Evangelion: The Second Scenario
by leonine
Summary: Holy crap I'm alive. Well, for those still willing to read here's my story back again. After the defeat of the 17th angel, it is thought that there is no need for NERV or the Evas. But what people don't know is that there is more to come.
1. Her child said 'your useless' and she sa

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's characters and story concepts belong to GAINIX and ADVision.   
  
ai wa ii desu ne.  
  
Notes: This is my first Eva fanfiction. I'm taking off after the original ep. 26, it's easier than the movies however, I do like the movies so some of that will be incorporated in here. I will keep posting regardless but I will do so faster if I get some reviews (good or bad) shinsetsu shimasu ^ ^  
  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 1: Her child said 'your useless' and she said 'shut up'  
  
Shinji Ikari; pilot of Eva Unit 01. Asuka Langley Sohryu; comatose patient of room 303 and undetermined pilot of Eva Unit 02. Two souls; different in appearance but as one in the heart. Rei Ayanami; The key to the third impact and pilot of nothing. Toji Suzuhara; 4th child crippled in action. Kaworu Nigesa; 5th child and 17th angel. When the moons split into the black and white two entities were born. From Adam came the angels and the basis of all Eva. From Lilith came humans.  
  
'A familiar hallway, but everything in this place is the same' a young boy notes as his feet lift again and again 'Room 303. I think this is the place' Shinji's fingers twitched slightly before he attained the courage to twist the handle.  
  
***  
  
A black room. Only windows and a desk furnish it, sitting down are two men in deep conversation.  
  
"You know, Ikari, the 2nd child is still comatose"   
  
"3 weeks is a long time. How has the search gone?"   
  
"Unsuccessful however do you really believe this true? Adam and Lilith are different"  
  
"The scrolls state 17 trials by disciples and apostles of god, easily classified as angels"  
  
"There have been 17"  
  
"From Adam came the angels, from Lilith came humans Fuyutsuki"  
  
***  
  
Twelve holograms as sound only converse. There is no light invading, no light would want to.  
  
"We still require the lance. Kowaru is gone" one said  
  
"There are other ways" twelve stated  
  
"Like what?" three questioned  
  
"We all know what Ikari hypothesizes" twelve answered  
  
"This committee is based on fact, not the idea of an insane commander" three shot back  
  
"Beside the point, Ikari's leash has slipped and he is running to fast" six pointed out  
  
"That is right, we need a new dog, one who will do the tricks we order" seven agreed  
  
"The tricks we ask are to complicated and dangerous, no dog will do it" one disagreed  
  
"Perhaps there are ways to get Ikari to obey us" nine wondered  
  
"Doubtful but you give a dog a chance before he is put down" one ordered as all the holograms dispersed  
  
***  
  
"Asuka?" a slow male voice called out  
  
He knew there would be no answer but he had learned to have hope, it didn't help him. The thin schoolboy walked over to the comatose redhead and looked at her. She faced away, as though she was disappointed in him like she always was. He called her name, to no avail. He lifted her head, to no avail, giving up he sat in a chair and stared at her. He had a thought, and he acted on it. He grabbed the patient by the shoulders and attempted to shake here from her sleep.  
  
"C'mon Asuka, wake up. C'mon Asuka" Shinji desperately urged  
  
Nothing.   
  
"This isn't funny anymore Asuka. Please Asuka. J-just wake up..." the tears flowed from his needy eyes "Help me. Help me please. No. J-just say something, anything. C-call me an idiot. I just..."  
  
The boy urged frantically before pulling the girl so that he could see her face, and incidentally, her breasts...  
  
***  
  
"I said 'speak louder' you idiot. How am I supposed to hear you if you talk so low?" A redhead in a matching plug suit yelled out  
  
"He cannot hear you" a small girl with matching hair informed the baffled pilot  
  
"Who the hell are you?"  
  
"I am you, when you died"  
  
"What? I didn't die"  
  
"Really?" the small girl snapped her fingers to place some memories in Asuka's head.  
  
Asuka: Mommy, mommy, I've been chosen as an elite pilot! Everyone's so nice to me now so I don't feel alone anymore!  
  
Asuka: I'm supposed to keep this a secret so I'll only tell you momma! Momma, momma?  
  
"And only a few days later"  
  
Asuka's grandma: I understand how you feel but it's alright if you have to cry Asuka  
  
Asuka: I'll never cry grandma, I'll live on my own  
  
"No, stop it! Don't make me remember those things" a screaming Asuka grabbed her head and dropped to her knees  
  
"How pathetic! You don't even recognize yourself"  
  
"Momma?"  
  
"You don't deserve to awaken"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You still do not understand. You are not awake"  
  
"I'm asleep?"  
  
"You will sleep while you have the will to sleep"  
  
"I want to wake up!"  
  
"But why?"  
  
"I want to be alive"  
  
"Nobody likes you though. You'd be all alone"  
  
"..."  
  
Asuka hesitated a moment and in that same moment Eva Unit 02 gripped her in it's hand as though her thin body were nothing more than a ball out of air.  
  
"Aaahhh!" Asuka screamed as her body was squeezed to a size smaller  
  
Through the pain she looked up to see herself as a child in the entry plug "The Eva is controlled by your will. This is proof that you wish to sleep"  
  
"N-no! That's not true. I want to be alive!"  
  
"But you are alive"  
  
"I-I want to be with my friends"  
  
"Friends? You have no friends"  
  
"That's not true...Misato is..."  
  
"Misato is your guardian and you are her job"  
  
"I must have friends. I'm the most popular girl in school!"  
  
"Amongst the boys. How many girls are your friends?"  
  
"Hikari..."  
  
"Is only leeching off your popularity for her own"  
  
"N-no. She let me stay at her house"  
  
"And did you see her smile or try to talk to you?"  
  
"..." no words came out and Asuka's head was held in shame 'Is it really true? Doesn't anyone care about me?'  
  
"Finally you realize that"  
  
"!"  
  
"We are one, your thoughts are also my own"  
  
"..."  
  
"Do you see?"  
  
"Wait. Shinji came to visit me, he's my..."  
  
"You do not know what Shinji is doing to you. You cannot feel your own body at this time"  
  
"No! Shinji is a pervert but he's to shy and respects me enough not to do it!"  
  
"You know he has jerk off fantasies about you. He's not stupid enough to put two and two as five. The only you are good to anyone for is sex"  
  
"N-no. I-I can pilot Eva"  
  
"Really? How did your last battle go?"  
  
"..."  
  
"Exactly"  
  
"...But when I could pilot I beat every Angel!"  
  
"Did you? There were problems with the 6th"  
  
"It was that damn Shinji's fault that I had so much trouble!"  
  
"Really? When it was just you, you were swallowed waist up and you couldn't use the Eva is water without him. You didn't kill it!"  
  
"You also split the 7th in half and needed Shinji to help you"  
  
"No, Shinji couldn't have done it by himself"  
  
"No? The angel started with one core and, like the starfish dilemma, Shinji would have disposed of it properly"  
  
"..."  
  
"Do you see?"  
  
"I defeated the magma angel by myself!"  
  
"With Shinji's progressive knife, Shinji's ploy, and you escaped because of Shinji"  
  
"Do you now see? You are the most useless of the selected children. You had the most time for training and you cannot beat a doll and someone with no training. You have never mad a valid contribution with you Eva"  
  
"..."  
  
Unit 02 squeezed Asuka harder but she didn't even notice with her self pity 'It's true. I am useless...'  
  
"That rights. It is far better to stay asleep forever where there is no pain, no fear, no sadness"  
  
"Asuka! Asuka! Please wake up. Please..."  
  
"Shinji?!" The redhead immediately looked into the great white void, struggling to break free, realizing a revelation  
  
"Why do you wish to escape? There is peace here"  
  
"But there is no happiness!"  
  
"If you wake up there will be no happiness! Who could give it to you? Shinji?"  
  
"Maybe not Shinji, but I'll have a chance at it!"  
  
"...Not while you live under your mothers eyes"  
  
"Mamma?"  
  
"You were abandoned. And if you wake up you will be alone"  
  
"I grew up to fast. I don't need people"  
  
"Liar. You are here now because you need people!"  
  
"I-I-I'll have Shinji!"  
  
"He will abandon you. Like everyone else"  
  
"NO! HE WON'T" the words screamed from her lungs as she pushed the Eva's fingers away, but not enough.  
  
"...Please just talk to me. Do anything, call me an idiot like you always do. Please...anything..."  
  
"Don't be fooled, he will continually outdo you with his piloting skills and bring you down with them. He does not care"  
  
"Your wrong...He saved me many times...He does care! You are wrong you stupid bitch!"  
  
As the last words escaped from her throat the Eva's grip broke and Asuka was free. But she fell. And fell. Like a dream of her death. But your dreams won't let you die. And Asuka wouldn't here. 


	2. When all things go up they must come dow

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's characters and story concepts belong to GAINIX and ADVision.   
  
Notes: Please review. Shinsetsu shimasu :p  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 2: When all things go up they must come down  
  
Room 303. Resting place of Asuka Langley Sohryu. Occupied by Shinji Ikari for the last few hours. Hospitals are a place of death, not miracles. Shinji never had a miracle happen for him. Until a pair of eyes opened up.  
  
The worry boy's tears hit the comatose' abdomen. He clung to her tightly, like a newly born to it's mothers tit. 'Please just wake up Asuka'  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"...ahn?"  
  
The boy was hearing things. He never thought he'd hear that voice again. He doubted it's existence but his curiosity forced him to look.  
  
"...Asuka?"  
  
"Asuka!"  
  
Shinji's eyes welled up with new tears, without thinking he wrapped his arms around the girl tightly and continued calling out her name.  
  
"Uh..." Asuka started groggily before her eyes spread open with surprise "W-what the hell are you doing?"  
  
"I'm glad your okay Asuka"  
  
The girl took a moment to compose herself before starting "Hey! Don't use this as an excuse to touch me"  
  
Upon orders, Shinji released his grip and apologized. He waited a moment before bending down to rummage in his bag. After a moment Asuka asked him what he was doing which Shinji answered with a smirk and a cell phone.  
  
"...Right?" Asuka looked at him dumbfounded whilst Shinji dialed   
  
"Misato? Asuka's awake! She's okay!"  
  
"What was that about?"  
  
"Everyone's been worried about you. Misato wanted me to call her...I-if you woke up"  
  
"...Thanks Shinji"  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Never mind...Idiot"  
  
***  
  
In a black room, with the Tree of Life overhead, the two commanders continue what they started.  
  
"Ikari, the high heads of the UN continue to push for the extermination of the Eva series"  
  
"Let them whine, the heads of SEELE won't let the uninformed fools do any more then that"  
  
"Shouldn't we inform the essential NERV personnel of the possible second scenario?"  
  
"No need. Confirmation is not yet finished, why get them in an uproar over nothing?"  
  
"Very well sir, but...If this guess is correct when will the Lilum and the other attack?"  
  
"Irrelevant. As long as the pilots and the Evas are operational then it matters not"  
  
"Understood sir"  
  
"So, how does the Marduke report look?"  
  
"We can't use that as cover anymore. It is has been publicly announced that they have disbanded but...It is still unsuccessful"  
  
"And the shipment?"  
  
"Unique Eva series Unit 14 and Unit 15 will arrive within the week"  
  
"S2 engines?"  
  
"Sadly only the mass Evas and our Unit 01 have an S2 engine. The others are going to be constructed and delivered within the month"  
  
"And how is...Our special patient?"  
  
"Reconstruction complete. All that remains is the Eva to be received and consent to be given"  
  
"Good. And of the 2nd child?"  
  
"A call was intercepted informing Major Katsuragi that the 2nd child has awakened"  
  
"Good. Go ask the major to return her"  
  
"Eh? Is that wise sir? We don't know if she's recovered from the mind rape"  
  
"If she can't synch now I will not wait for her to recover. In the time it could take we could probably train another child, however she will be given 2 chances. We will see what she makes of them"  
  
"I see sir" Fuyutsuki acknowledged as he left the office  
  
"Yui...Please just wait a little longer" he said to himself  
  
***  
  
Major Katsuragi immediately abandoned her desk after she received Shinji's call. She exited through gate 13 when Commander Fuyutsuki intercepted her.  
  
"Major"  
  
"Yes sir?"  
  
"You are leaving for the 2nd child?"  
  
"Yes sir"  
  
"Bring her back to headquarters"  
  
"What?! But sir..."  
  
"Questions are not for subordinates"  
  
"...Yes sir. Sorry sir"  
  
"Dismissed"  
  
Misato acknowledged her superior and left for room 303.  
  
***  
  
Only hours after her revival Asuka was bored. Shinji had left to finish some homework and to prepare for a harmonics test. 'Doesn't anything happen here? And where the hell is a t.v.?'. Lying back in her bed she stared at the I.V. A door swung open and Asuka turned to greet her visitor 'The little sap came back?'  
  
"Oh! Misato"  
  
Misato bent down and placed her hand on Asuka's forehead "So, how ya feelin' Asuka?"  
  
"I'm not sick"  
  
"Oh? That's good"  
  
"What's goin' on?"  
  
"Well, you get to...leave today"  
  
"WHAT? I get to leave today? Could anything be better?"  
  
"That's right Asuka but..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"...I don't know how to say this but upon return you must take a harmonics test and a synch test..."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Oh? I thought...Y-you'd be worried! Ha, ha, ha..."  
  
'I'm sorry Asuka, I can't tell you...I just hope you pass the 1st time'   
  
"Well? Are we going to go?" the patient asked by the door while Misato dwelled in her thoughts  
  
"Oh yeah, sorry Asuka, let's go"  
  
"Your getting to be like Shinji so stop it" Asuka scolded with her finger  
  
"Am I? Well, at least you're the same as always"  
  
"And what's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Oh, nothing dear. He, he"  
  
"Your weird now"  
  
***  
  
The boys locker room at NERV was separated from the girls' by a screen. Many lockers stood about but only one was open. 'Another harmonics test' the pilot of Unit 01 thought as he adjusted his plug suit. 'If there are no more Angels why do we still have to do this?' Shinji closed his locker and made way for the Pribnow box 'Ayanami left earlier, I should run so I'm not late'. In accordance with his thought Shinji jogged to the steps and up them where he collided with someone from the girls' change-room.  
  
"Ow, watch out 3rd child"  
  
"Asuka?" the staggered 3rd child asked  
  
"Yeah! Who else has this body?" the pilot asked while showcasing it  
  
"I donna know. I d-don't think about those things" blushed Shinji as his head turned away  
  
"Pssh. Liar"  
  
"So?" still blushing Shinji continued "D-do you have to take these tests to?"  
  
"No you idiot! The sweat I get in this plug suit is just so comfortable!" elaborated with intricate hand gestures  
  
"...?"  
  
Asuka waited for Shinji to realize the sarcasm but that realization never hit "No wonder you can't swim"  
  
Shinji just stared at Asuka with his face strewn about in a puzzle. Asuka's mouth was cringed in confusion before she brushed him off, insulting his intelligence as she did. The confused pilot tried to sort out the events that just occurred when the intercom buzzed on.   
  
"Shinji Ikari!" the newly re-established Ritsuko Akagi addressed "Immediately proceed to the Pribnow Box!"  
  
"Uh-oh" yelped out the late Shinji as he immediately sprinted to his destination. In half a minute Shinji reached the testing center, out of breath, with his hands on his knees.  
  
"Where the hell have you been?" his guardian screamed  
  
"It doesn't matter Misato. Shinji, go and get in the plug" ordered the scientist Dr. Akagi  
  
"Yes ma'am" ran off the relieved Shinji  
  
Once inside the plug the LCL filled the plug steadily. 'I'll never get used to this smell'. When he was ready, Asuka, who had been berating him in the background was silenced by Misato.  
  
"Asuka, stop it! All right everyone, the test is about to begin"  
  
The children closed there eyes unanimously and began to synchronize.  
  
***  
  
"How is Rei doing?" Ritsuko asked leaning over Ibuki's shoulder  
  
"Just cleared the borderline. Harmonics reading 71% and steady" the lieutenant informed  
  
"Isn't that an increase?"  
  
"Of 2% ma'am"  
  
"Good" the doctor decided as she continued to monitor Rei's progress  
  
Misato was standing, staring at the plugs when she opened her mouth "Hyuga, how is Shinji?"  
  
"Cleared borderline, harmonics steady at 82%, that's an increase of 6% ma'am"  
  
"That's great" the major stated before walking over to Aoba who was monitoring Asuka "...How is she doing?" the major asked in a caring tone  
  
"She jumps back and forth on the borderline, I hope when she does the synch test is doesn't go into shutdown"  
  
"And her harmonics?"  
  
"She jumps between 8 and 12%"  
  
"Dammit!" her fingers clenched in a tight fist, shaking  
  
"You have to tell her Misato" Ritsuko placed a hand on her shoulder convincingly   
  
"No, I didn't tell her she has to do it...I-I'm going to lie to her"  
  
"No you can't! Tampering with the results could get you removed or even...disappeared"  
  
"We'll just have to see how she does with confidence"  
  
"...I do not condone this"  
  
"I'm not asking you to"  
  
"I won't be a part of it"  
  
"...Hyuga! Patch me through to Unit 02" Misato ordered  
  
"Done ma'am" Hyuga quickly finished his task  
  
"Hey Asuka?"  
  
"Misato? So, how much but am I kicking?"  
  
"Great!" Misato stated before a single finger came up "Your #1!"  
  
"So I'm beating the invincible Shinji!" Asuka beamed with pride as she opened a patch to the third child "Hear that pervert? I'm kicking your ass! Ha, you can't beat the great Asuka!"  
  
Hyuga closed the patch and gave a questionable look at Misato "Are you sure that was wise major?"  
  
"Let's see. Bring up her readings"  
  
After a few key taps Asuka's harmonics were brought up "She's slightly over the borderline now. She also jumped 8 points ma'am"  
  
"That's a good starting point, it'll work at least"  
  
"Those are the scores of a rookie!" Ritsuko labeled  
  
"I thought you didn't care" Misato laughed  
  
"No, I wasn't going to help"  
  
"Whatever, tell the pilots the test is over"  
  
***  
  
'Why won't you move?' the red vixen cursed at her red toy. 'It's bad enough you won't obey but everyone's watching' The start-ups had been fine but Asuka couldn't move her Eva. She was the last to go.  
  
"I have the best test scores. Why won't this piece of junk move it's goddamn ass?" She cursed at her Eva  
  
Rei felt the need to help her fellow pilot; an unusual feeling. She asked them to open a patch and began to speak when she saw the blue in Asuka's eyes.  
  
"Pilot Sohryu, you must open your mind to her, if..." the first child advised  
  
"Shut up you bitch! Your probably happy that I'm having trouble! Y-you stupid doll"  
  
Rei was taken back by Asuka's hurtful words. It had been the second time she heard it...She thought.  
  
"Asuka, she's just trying to help..." the third child advised  
  
"Yeah, like the great 3rd child doesn't enjoy his spotlight! When it comes to tests he's humble. But when it comes to battle you ride out on your stupid white horse and save the day! I've never done anything to beat any of the angels! I'm so useless and your so good!"  
  
"B-..."  
  
"Just shut up and don't talk to me! I hate you third child! I HATE YOU!"  
  
Shinji was hurt. His newly recovered psyche was like a thin piece of glass hanging from a single hook. Even the slightest rumble can send it to the ground...And make it shatter.  
  
***  
  
Originally, Misato planned a celebration for Asuka however after the accounts of the synchronization test decided against it. Shinji lay upon his futon listening to his SDAT, eyes open wandering in the darkness. A door opens, he knows who it is. He just heard the words 'fuck you' and he knows why she came.  
  
"Shinji?" a worried Misato sounded out  
  
"..." he still faced away from her  
  
"Asuka's not feeling well, would you go see her?"  
  
"Why don't you go Misato" he already knew the answer before the purple haired woman sat down beside him.  
  
"I tried"  
  
"Why should I? She'll just yell at me"  
  
"Please Shinji. I'm not ordering you but I'm hoping you'll find it in your heart to do it"  
  
Silence.  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"...No"  
  
Misato stood up and turned to Shinji for some last words "If your depressed by your scores, you should know you beat her"  
  
"I knew that, she's no good"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Still no?"  
  
"That's right Misato" his eyes never strayed from the wall   
  
"Fine...But, come with me for a sec"  
  
"...Okay"  
  
Getting up, leaving his SDAT behind Shinji gloomily followed Misato to Asuka's room, the door was open. Inside stood a shell curled in a ball, rolling back and forth, nothing was broken. Misato whispered some final words "Look at her"  
  
Shinji's eyes had changed for the first time that night; to pity  
  
"S-s-so?"  
  
"Is that the Asuka you want? A broken shell of a soul. Her energy, her pride, her ambition, reduced to nothing?"  
  
"All she does is make fun of me"  
  
"Stop thinking of yourself!" Misato whispered but emphasized with a slap "You of all people must understand what she is going through, if you can fix it then shouldn't you?"  
  
"..."  
  
"What-how could I fix it, what would I say?"  
  
"I can't tell you, the words have to be yours. She has already turned away mine"  
  
"..."  
  
"Will you do it?" Misato urged for a last time  
  
"..."  
  
"I'm going to leave and if you want, you can, if you don't, you can lie"  
  
"..."  
  
"Goodbye"  
  
Misato left the staggering boy to his own devices and shut the door. For a long while Shinji stood there, and walked back to his room. He sat down and placed the headphones over his ears and pressed 'play'. He didn't hear the music. Why? No battery? No. Broken earphones? No. Then what? Asuka's tears. Shinji didn't want to hear them. He pushed the pieces right against his ears to silence it. But they were all he could hear. 'Dammit'  
  
***  
  
"I'm useless. I'm useless. I'm useless. I'm useless. I'm useless..."  
  
A broken girl lay on her bed huddled in the fetal position, rolling back and forth. Footsteps.  
  
"Asuka?"  
  
"Go away"  
  
The footsteps neared. A hand touched her shoulder. It was brushed away "Go away"  
  
"...No"  
  
"Please go away"  
  
"...E-earlier today you said..." started a feared Shinji  
  
"I don't hate you. Go away"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Asuka turned he head to Shinji, tears flowing freely. This took him aback, never had he seen her cry. He quickly regained the lost footing and shakily put his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"Please let go" Asuka only fearfully gazed at his hands  
  
"B-before you said you were useless"  
  
"I am"   
  
"No, your not"  
  
"I am. I couldn't do anything against the angels. I never helped" Asuka faced her comforter again  
  
"That's not true!" Shinji's voice was reaching a higher level of magnitude  
  
"There were 3 of us and we all depended on each other"  
  
"...You and the first child could have done it without me"  
  
"That's not true, we needed your help"  
  
"Stop lying, the sixth angel, I-I needed your help to push the mouth open..."  
  
"And I needed you. No one could have done without help"  
  
"It's my fault we lost to the seventh angel the first time"  
  
"I wouldn't have destroyed it properly either, it was a group effort that we did beat it"  
  
Asuka's tears were not as frequent now but they still came "You told me how to beat the eighth angel" She turned her head away as she continued "I only executed it"  
  
"But you told me earlier about physics, without that you would have realized it soon enough"  
  
Asuka's tears stopped as she was still held by the kindly Shinji.  
  
"I can't even pilot the Eva..." Now her head was held in shame  
  
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what you've gone through. I can't-I don't know"  
  
"It doesn't matter"  
  
Shinji let go of Asuka and turned to sit away from her "What did make you like this?"  
  
"My mother"  
  
"How?"  
  
"She...died" the lie was the first thing that came to her mind  
  
"Everyone has to die"  
  
"She...Took her own life"  
  
"What?"  
  
"She went insane and killed herself...And what she thought was me" Tears once again invaded Asuka's eyes "She left me alone...Everyone leaves me alone"  
  
Shinji turned and placed a hand on her shoulder "I won't Asuka"  
  
"Thank you...Shinji" 


	3. When the light breaks through the messen

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's copyright and story concepts belong to GAINIX and ADVision.  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 3: When the light breaks through the messenger appears  
  
"I hate these kids!" an enflamed Ritsuko proclaimed "They are why I dye my hair!"  
  
"You were gray way back in college" words were uttered in between sips of coffee  
  
For these pokes Misato received a dark glare from Dr. Akagi before speaking "Why can't they just be normal?"  
  
"They can't be normal to be an Eva pilot" Misato matter of factly informed  
  
"I know that. But just look at this; Asuka's up at 28%, Rei's down to 69%, and Shinji, well he's down to 70%! What on earth could cause him to drop 12 points!"  
  
Misato gave a small laugh to herself and quietly damned the situation.  
  
"Hyuga, end the test" ordered the angered Akagi  
  
***  
  
Shinji walked through the classroom like his old self the next day; depressed. He leaned on his elbow throughout the day and had to listen to everyone's tales of summer. 'Why bother? It doesn't matter' he thought with anger 'Won't she shut up?'. Asuka had not stopped re-telling the tales of the last few angels from her perspective.  
  
"...So I had to save wondergirl over there from the 15th angel. There she is, about to be hit by it's energy and in I come to push her out of the way and take it myself!" Asuka beamed proudly  
  
"Wow Asuka! Your so brave" a number of the males complimented  
  
"Yeah, you should all appreciate your fortune that you get to bask in the presence of the greatest Eva pilot ever!"  
  
"I wish you were my girlfriend Asuka" all of the boys commented  
  
"That's only natural"  
  
"Pssh. I wouldn't want to go out with her" Kensuke muttered with his face in the desk "And Toji wouldn't either"  
  
"Hey, Where is Toji?" Shinji finally perked himself up from his perch  
  
"Ahh, he just had major surgery and they won't let him come back" Kensuke's annoying voice crackled through  
  
"Oh"  
  
***  
  
"I'm home" Shinji greeted to the empty walls 'Not that anyone else is'  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" A towering figure grabbed Shinji by the ear and tugged  
  
Shinji let out a loud yelp and dropped his briefcase. He looked at the person through the pain and wondered why Misato was doing this.  
  
"Mi-Misato?" Shinji managed to say through yelps of pain  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" the enraged women repeated again  
  
"I-I don't know what your talking about"  
  
"The Eva! How can your synch ratio drop a full 12 points?" screamed Misato  
  
"I-I don't know" answered the scared boy  
  
"What the hell happened to you? What the hell happened last night"  
  
"I went to my room and slept there"  
  
"Liar. You did something to Asuka but the only thing that comes to mind shouldn't depress you..." Misato dragged on in the thought  
  
"Huh?" puzzled a confused Shinji  
  
"Oh. Never mind" Misato smiled at a frightened Shinji and let him go  
  
"Wait a sec!" Misato questioned before grabbing Shinji by the back of the shirt collar "Tell me what happened!"  
  
"We talked"  
  
"Your not going to tell me?" interrogated Misato  
  
"I am telling you!" Shinji affirmed  
  
Misato glared darkly at Shinji, letting him go. The frightened pilot ran off to his room leaving Misato to think. 'What could cause his mind to become so unbalanced? He was fine for the longest time but since Asuka...' Misato played the events pertaining Asuka and Shinji back in her head until it hit her;  
  
Asuka: I hate you third child. I HATE YOU!  
  
"Oh crap" Misato summarized as she reached for a good ol' cure all; beer  
  
***  
  
In the black heart of NERV the two veins speak calmly.  
  
"Have Units 14 and 15 arrived from China yet?"  
  
"Yes, the first child is going to do the start up tests for the both of them"  
  
"Good, have Rei use Unit 14 in combat"  
  
"And of Unit 15?"  
  
"We will save it for the next child. By the way, where is Kowaru?"  
  
"Gone, you received the report of his untimely demise"  
  
"Yes, that is true"  
  
***  
  
At the synch tests the next day the first and third child had already gone through the tests. All that was left was Asuka.  
  
"All right, initiate all three connections" Ritsuko ordered  
  
"First, second, and third connections complete" Ibuki reported   
  
"Psycho graph normal ma'am" Aoba read  
  
"Good. Commence the A-10 nerve connections"   
  
"connections complete" Hyuga stated  
  
"Harmonics plus 15" Ibuki finished the start-up  
  
"Now let's see her readings"   
  
She was standing by Maya, as she always did. Ibuki slid to the side a bit to allow the doctor to see Asuka's synch readings. Ritsuko accepted the invitation without words and peered at the screen "Hmm, 29%. Well, she can still pilot. This test is over"  
  
***  
  
Rei was going to leave as soon as all the tests had finished. But the first child asked her to stay and congratulate Pilot Sohryu.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"She's had a rough time lately. It would be good for to hear something nice"  
  
"This seems unlike you Pilot Ikari"  
  
"Huh? N-no please call me Shinji"  
  
"If Commander Ikari orders me to, I shall"  
  
"You seem different Rei"  
  
"Do I?" Rei questioned with her uninterested gaze   
  
'I guess Rei did die when she self-destructed her Eva' thought the caring Shinji about the disheartened Rei. Awkward silence filled the room although only Shinji seemed to notice. Luckily the silence didn't last long as the newly energetic Asuka came walking by.  
  
"Hey Asuka!" the awkward Shinji greeted  
  
"What?" Asuka wondered  
  
"Good job today" the third child gave a congratulatory thumbs up  
  
"Yes, your synch ratio has gone up by 9 points. 28% is good" Rei concluded  
  
"Huh? I thought I was the best"  
  
"No, you had a ratio of 19% when you returned"  
  
Asuka's eyes widened with surprise as Shinji quietly left to the locker room and left the girls to their conversation.  
  
***  
  
Twelve monoliths stand in a cold room; black like their hearts.  
  
"It is confirmed" seven informed one  
  
"I see. Prepare the masses" one ordered  
  
"Yes" twelve acknowledged  
  
"Ikari is pushing for the next child" six told  
  
"Send him" one precluded   
  
They disappear into the blackness of the room; silence.  
  
***  
  
After her encounter with Rei Asuka immediately returned home. The next few days, it rained. 'Great. Another stupid rainy day followed by stupid synch tests' Asuka moped at her desk. The teacher continued his education of the second impact and recounted his life at the time 'Does this teacher only know about the second impact?'. As the dribble dragged on Asuka drifted off until a bell awoke her.  
  
"Lunchtime!" many of the children gleefully cheered  
  
The second child ventured over to Shinji's desk and placed her hands on it "It's lunchtime"  
  
"Ahh, well, I ah, I figured that, well, y'know, you could, well, make your own lunch..." Shinji nervously stuttered  
  
"WHAT! You forgot? Idiot!" Asuka slapped Shinji on the side of the head and held out her palm   
  
"What?" Shinji asked, rubbing his head  
  
"Money"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Your forgot to make my lunch so give me money to go buy one!"  
  
"B-but I just brought money to buy myself lunch..."   
  
"It's your fault that I'm hungry so hand it over"   
  
Shinji reluctantly began to reach in when his cell phone rang. He stopped to reach into his other pocket and pulled out his phone.  
  
"Ah...Hello? What? Yes ma'am" Shinji quickly put the cell phone away in his bag this time  
  
"Well...Who was it?"  
  
"It was Misato. Angel!" Shinji exclaimed excitedly  
  
"Huh? They're all dead though"  
  
"Well, there's more. Ayanami, let's go"  
  
"Yes Pilot Ikari"  
  
Shinji hurried quickly out of his desk and Asuka followed suit, Rei calmly followed suit. Within a half hour the three children had run most of the way and were glad to be able to rest on the escalator. They crossed down and entered the change room, leaving for their separate sides. Within a minute the selected kids were in their plug suits and made way for the Pribnow box.   
  
"Asuka Langley Sohryu reporting" Asuka said between breaths to Misato  
  
"That's good. Proceed to the cage" Ritsuko interrupted  
  
The three made their way to the respective cages, speed walking the way.  
  
"Report in he says. Why do I listen to you?"  
  
They reached the elevator and went down to the umbilical bridges. They separated and climbed the stairs to their Evangelions and entry plugs. The restraints were removed and Units 01 and 14 launched, with Unit 02 as backup.   
  
***  
  
"Are you sure it's an angel?" Misato asked Hyuga  
  
"Yes ma'am, definitely. Blood type is Blue!"  
  
'But how? All the angels are supposed to be dead. Or is this something else I'm being kept in the dark about?'  
  
***  
  
Shinji readied his hands on the triggers and prepared his rifle. Deep in his concentration Misato patched through to have some words.  
  
"Shinji, we don't have visual confirmation of the target but radar reports it will arrive in about 60 seconds past Mt. Fujiko"  
  
"Right Misato"  
  
Shinji and Rei waited on opposing sides of the mountain's opening. 60 seconds. 50 seconds. 40 seconds. A figure the size of Unit 01 leaped above the mountain tops and crashed on Unit 14.   
  
"Ayanami!" Shinji screamed as he pulled the trigger to miss the Angel  
  
The angel hit Rei to the floor and began to beat in her face. Unit 14 couldn't fight back as it's shoulders were pinned by the angel's legs.  
  
***  
  
"What the hell? How could it jump so far?" the major wondered  
  
"And why does it look like Unit 01 without the restraints?" Ritsuko wondered  
  
"Should I launch Unit 02 ma'am?" Aoba inquired  
  
"Only if one of them goes down" Misato responded  
  
***  
  
Shinji tackled the mighty behemoth and lost the grapple, winding up on the bottom. He tried to hold the angel off until Rei recovered but the Angel's overwhelming strength forced Shinji's guard to fall. When Shinji's arms fell to the ground the Angel made a sharp particle appear on his forearm and with it, opened a large gaping hole in Unit 01's forehead.  
  
"..." Shinji was unconscious...  
  
***  
  
The sun sets down upon a peaceful park. The colors mixing with one another to create a collage of beauty. Two boys sit on a wooden bench, a white aura surrounding one of them. Lush greenery covers the ground as it sways in the wind.  
  
"You don't seem to ever be at ease anymore Shinji" the aura figure precludes  
  
"I just seem to always feel pain now Kowaru"   
  
"But why?"  
  
"I-I don't know"  
  
"Is it because of what the second child said?"  
  
"Asuka? I-I don't think so"  
  
"Or is it because you still pilot the Eva?"  
  
"I just cause so much more pain now"  
  
"You were fine for some time but now...after Asuka came back..."  
  
"Ma-maybe it is her"  
  
"You always seemed to need peoples approval and you lost hers"  
  
"..."  
  
"Is that why your troubled?"  
  
"M-maybe"  
  
"There are others on your mind aren't there Shinji?"  
  
"Rei, s-she is different, but she's a clone"  
  
"Sigh, clones aren't perfect, they share the same body and the same starting emotions as their soul when they died. If you act like you did to her second clone then maybe she will become the same Rei you like"  
  
"And...I thought you were the last angel Kowaru"  
  
"That's true but...I'm not allowed to reveal the secrets of the universe but, I am the 17th angel however, ah, you've seen the picture of angel?"  
  
"Y-yes, it looks like Unit 01"  
  
"Indeed, but...Lilith is not an angel, Adam is the first and that basis for Unit 01 is the second angel"  
  
"But how was it destroyed?"  
  
"It wasn't, when the second impact occurred the shockwaves sent the angel into a sort of embryonic state and sent into hibernation"  
  
"Why does my Unit 01 look like it?"  
  
"Your Unit 01 is based off of Lilith's Internals but it's surface is of the 2nd angel"  
  
"Thank you Kowaru"  
  
"It will take a while for you to be like you were but...I hope you do Shinji. By the way there is something I should warn you of"  
  
"What is it Kowaru?"  
  
"I am not allowed to reveal these secrets but...The 2 moons vie for dominance. You must try to overcome the odds"  
  
"Goodbye Shinji. See you soon"  
  
***  
  
Shinji awoke with a sudden start to find that Rei had been shut down and lay beside a broken power cable and that Asuka was being savagely beaten by the angel.  
  
Shinji looked around the cockpit checking all primary power sources "...All power nominal. Unit 01 lift-off!"  
  
Unit 01 lifted itself from it's resting place and front-flip kicked the angel away from Asuka. It locked fingers with it and pushed it over. Shinji, with the sudden adrenaline, took out the progressive knife and jammed it in the eye of the angel. The angel screamed, whilst extending it's arms around Unit 01's neck and proceeded to strangle it. Shinji began to lose footing and fell back when the Angel lifted it's head, swung him up and snapped it's neck before discarding it and charging at Unit 02.  
  
"N-no. No power?"  
  
***  
  
"What's Shinji's status?" Misato demanded  
  
"His synch has dropped down below 20%, he can't heal the neck in this position!"  
  
"Dammit!"  
  
***  
  
Shinji sat in horror, moving the triggers, watching as the angel destroyed Asuka's Eva. First, Unit 02 tried to roundhouse it but the angel caught the foot and ripped it off. Shinji had to listen to Asuka's screams of terror and pain, then he had to watch as both arms were ripped of simultaneously followed by dismembering of it's head. Unit 02 fell to the ground as Asuka cried out. The angel was relentless as it ripped off the plug cover and attempted to pull it out.  
  
"N-no! Asuka! NO!" Shinji cried in rage  
  
"Dammit, work you piece of shit! Work! WORK" Shinji screamed at the toy to no avail  
  
"Ah, I can't do anything. T-this pain will never go away...never" Shinji teared up at the sight of the plug coming out  
  
***  
  
Gendo Ikari had traveled to the base of operations to give out his specialized orders  
  
"Send it out Major Katsuragi" the commander ordered  
  
"B-but there's no pilot who can do it"  
  
"Use the remaining dummy plug"  
  
"B-but sir..."  
  
"Do it!"  
  
***  
  
Deep within Shinji's psyche his mind was racked with anything he could do...Nothing came. Only for comfort he replayed his dream with Kowaru  
  
Kowaru: You must try to over come the odds  
  
***  
  
"Kowaru?" his head lifted with renewed vigor  
  
"Your right. I must try. I MUST!" Shinji screamed the words as his Eva re-activated  
  
The angel was trying to crush Asuka's entry plug as Shinji kicked it's head. It dropped the entry plug and received a pummeling by Shinji's fists. The angel reared back, it attempted to regain composure but was met with some daggers in his head from Unit 01's shoulder. The angel was not stopped by this and grabbed Unit 01's arms. It began to pull until the red blood of the Eva spilled out of the sockets. Shinji screamed in pain before the angel finished it by ripping off it's head. Shinji's Eva de-activated and fell silent when the angel again walked to Asuka's entry plug.  
  
"no...I'm sorry Asuka"  
  
The angel picked up Asuka's plug and began to push inwards...Until a precision rifle's blast severed it's arm. A black Eva similar to the failed Unit 03 dropped on the angel and began to strangle it.  
  
"So, even the devil can lose! Huh, Shinji?" a familiar voice popped through the patch  
  
"T-Toji?!"  
  
"That's right!"  
  
Unit 15 was on the angel's back which, due to the tremendous weight, was unable to get up. Toji continued to strangle the head until a crack was heard when the 4th child ripped it clean off, blood spattering everywhere. The angel's body twitched a little but Toji turned it over and ripped away at it's torso. A maroon core stood out amongst the gray body. Unit 15 grabbed it's progressive knife and stabbed at the core until it cracked. 


	4. The course of true love

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion. If I did then this would be an anime. Anyway Evangelion is owned by GAINIX and ADVision.  
  
Notes: I'm sure you can all see where this is going to go in terms of romance. Or is it? It is. Sigh  
  
Ai wa ii desu ne.  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 4: The course of true love...  
  
The dark office of Gendo Ikari. Everything matches his personality: clothes; black, view; none, atmosphere; silence. Everything but his usually energetic visitor. The 3rd head of NERV, Major Katsuragi.  
  
"And Dr. Akagi cannot debunk why Unit 01 shut down?" the pilot's father asked through folded fingers  
  
"No sir, however, it is my personal opinion that the extreme stress of the pilot, with having the head and upper limbs ripped off, caused it to shut down" She stood, rather uncomfortably, erect reporting her thought  
  
"That is why it is your opinion. The S2 engine operates until the core is destroyed"  
  
"Yes sir"  
  
"Dismissed Major Katsuragi"  
  
"Thank you sir...May I ask you something?"  
  
"No"  
  
Misato let the awkward silence fill the room before she took it upon herself to quickly step out. 'Why was there another angel? All 17 were destroyed!'  
  
Gendo waited for Misato to have been absent for a few moments before speaking with Fuyutsuki.  
  
"Hmm, I think she wonders why there was another angel" Gendo stated turning to face his old friend  
  
"Everyone wants to know. They were very pushy with their questions about why NERV still exists before today"  
  
"Well, perhaps they will silence themselves until scenario 2 takes place"  
  
"Oh! You've confirmed it?"  
  
"Indeed. Yui keeps good notes...But we will soon need the next child for the when the two moons clash"  
  
***  
  
It had taken a while for the rescue team to get the three Eva pilots out, especially Asuka, her super-heated hatch and been broken off in the grip. When Shinji had returned to the locker room he was glad that he had someone to talk with even though there was some silence between the 2 once good friends.  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"T-Toji?" Shinji piped after a few moments  
  
"Yeah?" the recovered 4th child asked  
  
"H-how did you, uh, y'know, uh, the leg?" Shinji stuttered out against his guilt  
  
"Oh this one?" Toji asked as he slipped on his favorable track suit  
  
"Well, they gave me some drugs and took some samples of my other leg. After they gave me some, uh, what'd they call it? Oh yeah, reconstructive surgery or somethin' and I had this here. I don't know all the details"  
  
"I-I'm sorry Toji"  
  
"Fer what?"  
  
"For doing that to you"  
  
"This? Naw, Misato dropped by one day, gave me some stuff. And a kiss!!" Toji's eyes went dreamy as Shinji wondered about the sanity of his friend "Anyway, she told me all about what happened. I forgave ya a long time ago"  
  
"That's great! I'm glad we can be friends again" Shinji enthusiastically stated  
  
"Will you two shut up!!" a familiar voice called past the screen  
  
"She always like that?" Toji asked with a finger pointing that way  
  
"No, she's just a little, competitive, stupidly, when it comes to the Evas" Shinji explained "And she was beaten fairly bad, her pride just breaks in half so easily" Shinji whispered next to Toji  
  
"Wow. Freak"   
  
Shinji finished buttoning up his shirt and place his plug suit in the locker assigned to him. Toji waited for him, walking beside him when Shinji was going to leave. Misato materialized in the doorway that acts as an exit and entrance.  
  
"Uh, hah, hi Misato!" Toji eagerly greeted  
  
"Hello Toji. You know how to get to Commander Ikari's office, right?"  
  
"Uh, yeah Misato"   
  
"Good, then please report there"  
  
"Oh? Okay" starting past the beautiful women towards his superiors office  
  
"Oh, and Toji. Good job"  
  
Toji spun around and bowed making a perfect right angle "Thank you ma'am!"  
  
"Shinji"  
  
"Yes Misato?"  
  
"I have a lot of paperwork to fill out, take my dinner chore please"  
  
"Of course Misato"  
  
"Thanks Shinji!"  
  
***  
  
It took a while before Shinji gave up on waiting for Toji. 'My father never talks to me that long...' Shinji grumbled as he made his way home. He took the elevator up, glancing at his watch '7:02. I hope Asuka isn't home'. He didn't really feel like cooking but knew he'd cave if she asked, no, ordered him to. He walked through the corridor, gazing ahead at the night sky until he reached the door reading 'Katsuragi'. Preparing himself for a verbal beating he opened the door.  
  
"Finally!" the unsuspected voice called out  
  
Shinji held back thinking he was going to be hit but it never came. She had a tendency to take out her anger on him.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Asuka asked with a certain expectancy in her voice  
  
"Oh...ah, nothing, ha, ha"  
  
Asuka gave Shinji a suspecting look before walking back into the apartment that a boy, girl and woman shared. Shinji wondered what just happened before going in.  
  
"Ah, Misato's not going to be home so we have to cook for ourselves"  
  
Shinji couldn't see Asuka but could hear her voice clearly "I know, she called here an hour ago telling me we had to make dinner"  
  
"Yeah, so...ah, what do you want?"  
  
"Huh? I already made something" Asuka answered, peering her head around the corner  
  
Shinji was taken back by this turn of events 'she's going to poison me!' he negatively thought. '...Or she didn't make anything for me' Shinji completed his thought before proceeding past the bedroom hallway to the kitchen. It had quite a bit of food on it but Asuka could stuff herself if she wanted to 'Hmm, she must not have eaten...'  
  
"Anyway, I haven't eaten..." Asuka started, sitting down to the food at the table  
  
'Ah ha, I was right! Great, now I have to cook' Shinji thought triumphantly before groaning  
  
"And I may not be as good with the feminine stuff as you but you wanna join me?"  
  
Shinji stood there in silence before slowly sitting down 'She must be doing this because she wouldn't give me back my money!'. She had taken it when they were making way to NERV, to buy a hot dog, but never spent it or gave it back. The reluctant boy sat down in the seat and picked up the chopsticks. He was about to dig into some ramen, made from scratch. He was very reluctant to do so, it was brightly colored, which was good but he had never eaten anything made by Asuka.  
  
Asuka, seeing Shinji's reluctance to eat, took a break from her meal to explain to him what it was "It's called ramen, unlike Misato, I know how to make it from scratch!"  
  
Shinji continued to eye it cautiously before picking it up with the chopsticks. The utensils shook as it made way to the mouth, and finally, with Asuka's intent look of disapproval, he ate it. He chewed and chewed until he finally swallowed it.  
  
"Mhm, it's good!" Shinji complemented   
  
"I know! I'm the best at anything I do!" Asuka beamed with pride  
  
The rest of the meal went off with relatively little and irrelevant conversation. Afterwards the two decided to watch something on the tube. They sat on opposite sides of the tea table with an arm slung on it. Nothing good was on, just soaps, news, and old episodes of animes.  
  
"Well, another boring day of money giving"  
  
"Fridays never are any good"  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"...Do you miss Kaji?" he needed the awkward silence to end  
  
"...Sometimes, I just wish I had one time with him. I really loved him" Asuka stated, remembering around the time she found out about the 4th child (see manga to know what I'm talking about)  
  
"I don't know what your talking about but it does hurt to lose a loved one. But could really love a man twice your age?"   
  
"I did love him. There was something about him, he was manly and cute and nice and brave...But, who did you lose to learn that?"  
  
"My mom died when I was four but...I never knew that until people told me"  
  
"Oh"  
  
"Apparently I was very different before then and that I started to change after I began piloting Eva"  
  
"...I hear that you didn't chose to become an Eva pilot"  
  
"I didn't...Father forced me to..."  
  
"Why do you still do it?"  
  
"To hear the words of congratulations from him. To be acknowledged that I exist. That I deserve to exist, to be respected..."  
  
"Those are sad reasons..."  
  
"...To be loved"  
  
"You haven't found the last one, have you?"  
  
"...No"  
  
They had turned away from the television now and were deeply involved in their conversation about...existence.  
  
"Why do you have such problems with your mother?"  
  
This must have offended Asuka for she turned her face away from Shinji. She didn't want him to see that a slight buildup of a tear came in her right eye. She waited for it to pass before turning back.  
  
"Did I say something wrong?"  
  
"My...mama went insane and...tried to commit traditional suicide"  
  
"...Oh,...how can you try to commit traditional suicide"  
  
"Mama was insane and..." Asuka took a little sniffle before continuing "she thought I was a doll" the last few words were forcefully choked out  
  
Shinji sat there, unknowing what to do. He thought back to any situations like this one and, as a result, placed his hand on Asuka's. He gave his condolences and she grasped his hand tightly. They sat there for a few moments, unsure of the next action.   
  
"Kiss me" Asuka ordered  
  
"Huh?" Shinji pulled his hand back and stared at her  
  
Asuka looked at him, the boy she had kissed only once before out of boredom. He looked back, visibly confused and a little afraid. She leaned forward and he leaned back. She stopped and he did the same, extending her hands she grasped Shinji's shoulders and pulled him towards her lips.  
  
***  
  
"Stupid angel and it's stupid race" Misato cursed the cause of her paperwork as she rubbed her eyes to stay awake. She glared hard at her watch, as though she were trying to make it go backwards '4 am. Then I have to get up at 8 and go back to stupid NERV'. She planned to walk right past anything that needed doing and plopping herself on a futon to whisk her to sleep. However, the sight that impeded her way to her room brought her eyelids closing to a screeching halt. In the middle of the ground, in front of the t.v. lay, on a single futon, Asuka and Shinji locked in embrace. Misato stared hard at them, sorting reasons as to why they were doing this: 1. They were both very tired and simply fell asleep next to one another. Unlikely, Asuka would beat the crap out of Shinji for that. 2. Shinji realized he had the hots for Asuka and put the moves on her thus, getting into her pants. Impossible, Shinji is as much of a man as I am, and has less balls to do that. 3. Asuka realized she liked Shinji and put the moves on him, convincing him all the while to sleep together but not sleep together or he didn't get it. Most probable, but still unlikely. 'Great. This is going to make my job even harder and I won't get any sleep and she might make him a man...and he won't do anything like cook or clean!' the last thought truly frightened Misato before she decided to attempt to sleep.  
  
***  
  
Misato, groggy from only getting about an hours sleep, needed more then the usual 1 beer to perk her up. She made her way to the kitchen and smelled something good...but different. 'Oh god, please let him be cooking' she wearily made her way to the source of the smell and saw Asuka at the table, eating bacon and eggs and Shinji at the counter, in an apron, making the bacon and eggs 'Score. He still cooks'. Much relieved now Misato opened the fridge and brought out 3 beers, chugging them with unbelievable haste.   
  
"Oh yeah! Good stuff" Misato gave a wide dopey smile as she finished the first of three beers  
  
"Morning Misato" the apron covered Shinji greeted  
  
"I can't believe your our guardian" Asuka felt rolling her eyes  
  
'Should I ask about what I saw? I really shouldn't but...' her demon and angel battled out inside her "Why were you two sleeping together?" Misato hastily asked  
  
Both Shinji and Asuka stood in awe "...ah"  
  
Shinji stayed silent while Asuka answered "Well, I guess we're, y'know, there"  
  
Misato realized Asuka's shyness and capitalized on it "Oh, is Asuka scared to say 'love'? She's still just a wittle baby!"  
  
The shy child just brushed her guardian off and went to her room to change. Misato giggled and went to finishing her 3rd beer. Between sips she spoke to the cooking Shinji "So, did you see anything good?"   
  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
  
Misato turned and stared at her beer before realizing her mistake "Ah, never mind Shinji" she glanced at the clock and her eyes popped out "Shinji! You and Asuka hurry to school or you'll be late! And I'll be too!" Misato got up quickly, unaware that her bra had seemingly been left in her room and that Shinji was in the room. She dashed her cans in the garbage and went into the washroom leaving the emerging Asuka and Shinji to leave for school.  
  
***  
  
In the room inhabited by Class 2-A the teacher again babbled about second impact and how everyone was affected by it. The red laptops on every students desk covered their heads allowing to sleep until the bell hit 12.  
  
"And so, that concludes today's lecture of second impact" the blind and deaf teacher said to his asleep class "Now...Ikari, please take these copies of 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' and hand it out to the class"  
  
Shinji followed his orders and gathered the books, very thin. He handed one to each of the students who took this service for granted. When Shinji gave Asuka her copy she thanked him and made a quiet kissing noise. He smiled and proceeded to hand out the rest of the books.  
  
The teacher handed out various parts to the class via Hikari who picked them. Shinji was given Lysander, Asuka; Hermia, Hikari gave herself Helena and Toji Demetrius. The rest were small irrelevant parts given to people who couldn't really read English. Actually neither Shinji or Toji could really do it well but Hikari gave them out for amusement. After about an hour of reading Shinji reached a part he found interesting as he and Asuka stood up to read their parts.  
  
"My father has given me a choice; either I shall spend an eternity with Demetrius or I shall spend an eternity with death!" Asuka read with almost perfect English, despite a slight accent  
  
"T-tehae-the ko-ruse-co-course of ti-ru-t-true ru-luv ne-he-r-n-never did ru-n su-mu-the-ri-smoothly" Shinji pronounced with broken heavily accented English, trying to sound the words in hiragana  
  
The bell saved Shinji from having to humiliate himself further and allowed him to grab at the lunch that he prepared for himself and Asuka.  
  
***  
  
"What awesome reading Shinji. I really thought I was dating a preschooler" Asuka teased during lunch  
  
"Shut up" Shinji ordered while eating a bowl of rice  
  
"Your just overreacting" Asuka informed, giving him a kiss  
  
Shinji smiled and forgot about the troubles during English class  
  
***  
  
After lunch Shinji and Asuka spent the day in Kanto doing things that only Asuka wanted to do, while Shinji carried bags. The sun had fallen by the time they returned home. Asuka expected to be chewed out by Misato for not having Shinji home in time to cook dinner 'Even though it is her turn'. She twisted the knob and called out that they were home but received no reply. Asuka walked to the answering machine, leaving Shinji to fend for himself by the door, and pushed the play button.  
  
'K, I have no idea where you guys are but you should be home right now! Anyway, I have some work I get to do so you two fend for yourselves. By the way Asuka, I'm out so don't bother'  
  
Shinji dropped the bags on the floor, leaving Asuka to rifle through them. He plopped himself on the couch, picking up the remote to turn on the t.v.. "Hey Shinji!"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Make some dinner"  
  
Shinji let out a heavy sigh and acknowledged, passing Asuka with her clothes to the kitchen. Shinji made some sashimi with tempura. They both ate it up hungrily with various beverages; soda for Shinji and beer for Asuka.   
  
"So...Shinji, what do you want to do?" Asuka proclaimed from boredom   
  
"Ah, nothing?"  
  
"Your no fun" Asuka resumed her pouty posture  
  
"Um...Asuka? Misato asked me something really weird"  
  
"What?"  
  
"She asked if 'I saw anything good'"  
  
Asuka let out a brief laugh before explaining it "She wanted to know if we slept together"  
  
"B-but we did..."  
  
"No, she wants to know if we slept together like a boy-girl"  
  
"Oh! Well, that's just dumb"  
  
"Why? Is sleeping with me so distasteful?" Asuka put Shinji in a very awkward position "Am I ugly?"  
  
"N-no" waving his arms in protest "Sleeping with you would be...good"  
  
"Good? Just good? Chocolate is good"  
  
"I-it'd be great, I think about it all the time"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Uh...uh..."  
  
"Well, as long as I'm the only one you think of it's fine"  
  
"You are, every since the hos..."  
  
"What about the hospital?" She gave a very evil glare at Shinji, it made him crack  
  
"Well..."  
  
"C'mon, you can tell me anything. What's the worse that can happen?" Asuka coaxed the guilty boy  
  
"I-I did something terrible"  
  
"Like what? Photograph me? Cause that's totally normal" laughed an anxious Asuka  
  
"I-I-I-I t-touched myself"  
  
"what?"  
  
"I-I'm sorry"  
  
"WHAT!"  
  
Asuka was sitting beside Shinji. This turn of events made her stand and Shinji back away. Asuka stood right in front of a trembling Shinji. She stared into his eyes with anger, but not hatred. She moved her shoulder and swung her hand as hard as she could to slap him. Shinji was sent back a bit, with a little bit of blood trickling from his lip. Asuka pushed him against the cabinet, Shinji hit hard. She wasn't done, she grabbed things by the sink and hurled them at him. Only things like chopsticks hit Shinji, nothing that could hurt. But Asuka was mad, and she grabbed anything that touched her hand and threw it. After her arm moved she realized she threw a plate at Shinji. It hit him in the face, shattered and cut him.  
  
"T-that's what you get pervert!" Asuka screamed at Shinji before running out of the kitchen leaving the pilot to grasp his bleeding face  
  
***  
  
The next day, Shinji had been sent to a hospital where he lay with a bandage over his eye. He slept a lot of the day and ate little. A day later he was given surgery to fix his lens, cut in half, and the scratch on his cornea. When he awoke from the operation many cards lay upon a desk by his bed. He turned over a read them.  
  
"Asuka" he called out before throwing it to the floor  
  
"Asuka" he sent it the way of the last one  
  
"Asuka" dashed it to the ground  
  
"Toji" Shinji read before opening it "Hey Shinji, get better soon. I need to copy my homework off someone"  
  
"Kensuke. Hey Shinji, life's boring without you in it. Later"  
  
"Hikari. I wish you well Shinji. See you soon"  
  
"Misato. Get better Shinji. I need food!" Shinji chuckled at his guardian's card  
  
"Huh, Ayanami. Dear Pilot Ikari. I wish you well and good fortune. Sincerely, Rei Ayanami"  
  
He continued looking through the cards, there was one by Ritsuko, Ibuki, Aoba, and Hyuga and then, he found one from Gendo Ikari, his father.  
  
"...Father, No words. Surprising" as he opened the card a small photo fell out. He picked it up and examined a photo of his mother and himself. "Thanks"  
  
"Asuka"  
  
"Asuka"  
  
"Asuka"  
  
The last of the cards belonged to the fiery red head but Shinji uncaringly threw them to the ground. He rested in his bed and, after a few hours the door opened. He turned to see his visitor but quickly turned back when he saw the auburn hair.  
  
"Shinji?" an uncharacteristic gently voice asked  
  
"..."  
  
"I know your mad. And you have every right to be"  
  
"...Go away"  
  
"I'm sorry Shinji"  
  
"Go rot in a hole"  
  
"...Goodbye Shinji"   
  
Shinji could hear the footsteps echo outside the door but only moments later another pair neared. Shinji turned again to see some light blue hair.  
  
"Pilot Ikari?"  
  
"Yes Rei?"  
  
"I wanted to see if you were recovered"  
  
"It'll be awhile but I'll manage"  
  
"That is good. Do you know why Pilot Sohryu was crying?"  
  
"...No"  
  
"Very well, your father sends his condolences" The albino pilot reported before leaving her own footstep echoes on the floor  
  
Throughout the course of the day Asuka visited him twice more but she was met with the same response. Afterwards he went to bed and wasn't disturbed until the next day. The nurse came in the morning, telling him that he was to be released. He gladly obliged and left the ward for the waiting room. Everyone he had grown close to was waiting for him around the exit. Asuka was waiting for him by the entrance to the waiting room, she spotted him quickly and ran up to give him a hug. He used his hands to push her away and continued to his friends, greeting them with a smile he hadn't used in awhile. They spent at least a half hour badgering him with questions, but he didn't mind. They walked with him out until he reached the car Misato used to drive him around. She was standing next to the car waiting for his return.  
  
"Hey Shinji. You feel better?" Misato happily greeted at his presence  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Welcome home Shinji"  
  
"No"  
  
"What?" Misato casually laughed  
  
"I want to move"  
  
***  
  
Note: The characters lose some of theirs around the end. It's hard to do. My first language is Chinese, then Japanese, and then English. It is hard to make sure they stay the same. Please review 


	5. The place I call home

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion. If I did the characters personal lives would have been developed further. Oh well, that's what FF.net is for.  
  
Notes: Thanks for all of your comments. I appreciate your urging me on and for the one guy who dogged my writing; I thank the most. I read my stuff and decided to ditch where this was going originally. In this chapter Asuka and Shinji were going to make up but now...Well, read it.  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 5: The place I call home  
  
There is a moment of silence flowing throughout the wind. 'Lies' the disbelieving Major believed these words to be: "I want to move out". However, Shinji is serious. His face does not move and his body matches it.   
  
"What?" Misato questioned her subordinate again  
  
"I don't want to live there anymore"  
  
The heated discussion is on display to all their friends. Some of the them attempt to break the silence by conversing amongst themselves. It did nothing for the two.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'm tired of living with you two. I-It's just time to start something new"  
  
"Shinji, did something happen between you and Asuka?"  
  
"...No"  
  
She held back the tears. They stung her eyes harshly. Asuka had hoped that Shinji and herself could work out what she did but now...He was leaving because of it.  
  
***  
  
The car ride home was quiet except for the depressed sigh Misato let out from time to time. Asuka sat in the back where Misato left her stolen batteries. Shinji couldn't hear her, he didn't really care. His one eye stared at the scenery outside. 'There it goes. Always changing, just speeding past'.   
  
***  
  
No silence proceeded the quiet room. Misato stood by the doorway, hoping for...anything to make him stay. He left for his room and shut the door, Asuka standing on the outside. 'That's right Asuka, guilt him into staying!'. Shinji walked out with his stuff, all in a single box 'How sad when your life fits in a box'. Asuka stood there, staring at the ground. She did nothing, and she could not either. He left. For where, she didn't know.  
  
***  
  
He had ridden a bus many a time. He found it calm and a reflection on life. 'Everyone leaves and comes. Nothing stops changing'. He knew where he was headed; Osaka. It was only a little ways from the Kanto region and he needed to be by friends now. People who understood him. He waited a few hours before going up to the apartment that Toji Suzuhara called home. The elevator up was long, he wondered if they would let him stay. The corridor was empty and almost identical to the one that led to Misato's apartment; his old home. Juggling a box and trying to ring a doorbell is hard, or at least Shinji thought it was. It took a few minutes before his call was answered. By Toji's little sister, no less.   
  
"Hiya! Who're you?" the short little kid asked  
  
"I-I'm Shinji Ikari. Is Toji here?" the nervous boy asked, bending down to the little girl  
  
"Uh-huh!" the girl nodded, turning to retrieve her little brother  
  
He waited for a few moments before the object of his desire arrived. A tall Japanese boy in a black 'Fila' tracksuit; his friend.   
  
"Hey Shinji. How ya' doin'?" the host greeted, taking Shinji's box from him  
  
"M-me? I'm good...but I was wondering..." with his hand he scratched his short hair  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I-if I could stay here for the night...If it's not to much trouble" Shinji elaborated his point with shaking hand gestures  
  
"Sure, my granddad and dad work pretty late anyway, I had to take a bus to get back here!"  
  
"Th-thanks Toji"  
  
"Oh, by the way. This is my little sister; Megumi" he nodded towards the child  
  
"H-hi Megumi!" Shinji let out a false smile for the girl  
  
"Hiya! My big brother's an Ebangarion pilot!" the girl boasted proudly  
  
"She can't say it right yet. Her school doesn't teach much use for Katakana. Anyway, come in"  
  
***  
  
It wasn't much different from home. Except he was spoken to consistently, he still had to pull his weight in chores and cook dinner. Afterwards though, it was a completely different place, they took turns playing games, watching t.v. and they shared food.  
  
"You're an Ebangarion pilot to?" the excited girl exclaimed  
  
"Y-yes but it's E-va-n-ge-ri-o-n" Shinji slowly pronounced in Hiragana  
  
"So Shinji, why aren't you at home with Mi-Sa-To?" Toji slowly pronounced his loves' name  
  
"Well, there were some problems between me and Asuka..."  
  
"So, the red-headed bitch. No surprise there"  
  
"...Yeah, anyway, I decided to leave...So, can I, uh, maybe, well, live here?"  
  
"Yeah...Sorry, Shinji but I have to move to" Toji slowly replied, resting a hand on his head  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Apparently, as a pilot I have to live in the heart of Kanto, so that I can get there quick and so they can protect me, or something"  
  
"Well, thanks anyway"  
  
"Oh, maybe I can take your spot with Misato!" his eyes gleamed with hope and his hands formed a prayer  
  
Shinji looked away from his love-struck friend "...Right..."  
  
***  
  
"Hmmm? Why do you want to move Shinji?" a concerned Ritsuko inquired  
  
"I-I just want to. Uh, I was just wondering, if, well, maybe if the place I was going to leave originally is still there?" he trailed on the last few words  
  
"I'd have to go check but I don't think so"  
  
Dr. Akagi turned, placing her hands in her pockets and started towards the lift. Shinji stood there, unknown if he should move or not.  
  
"Hey Shinji!" a loud voice startled him from his trance  
  
"Y-yes Hyuga?"  
  
"Did something happen between you and Asuka?"  
  
"Huh? H-how did you know about Asuka?" Shinji was taken back by the statement  
  
"Well...when you tell Major Katsuragi anything guaranteed that we'll all know" Hyuga informed looking at his two comrades  
  
"...No, nothing happened"  
  
"Oh? Why would you want to move out with Misato?" Hyuga rhetorically asked, turning back to his computer  
  
***  
  
Doctor Ritsuko Akagi knew the way to Gendo Ikari's office by heart. She could make their blindfolded. A few turns here, and few there and a lift up. She walked in to see the cold commander at his desk, hands folded with Fuyutsuki at his side, in a chair.  
  
"Yes, Dr. Akagi?" Ikari asked between folded hands  
  
"Construction is complete sir"  
  
"Good. So the Evangelions will be ready for the celestial moon?"  
  
"Yes sir"  
  
"And have you managed to attain a date?"  
  
"I can only estimate it will be within one to two weeks"  
  
"I see. And of the next child?"  
  
"Process is complete. He will arrive, with any luck, before the second scenario"  
  
"With his Evangelion"  
  
"Yes, and he is supplying the finished S2 engines"  
  
"Excellent. Do the pilots still question anything?"  
  
"No sir, after the last incident with the angel everyone has kept quiet"  
  
"Good"  
  
"And sir?"  
  
"Yes Dr. Akagi?"  
  
"Your-The third child wishes to take up different residence"  
  
"I see. Who can he live with at the moment?"  
  
"Misato Katsuragi, who he left, or Rei Ayanami...or he could live alone"  
  
"Give him a place alone"  
  
"Yes sir"  
  
The doctor turned message girl returned to the lift and took it down leaving the two men alone.  
  
"Should he live on his own? His self esteem isn't going to force him to live"  
  
"It doesn't matter, if he dies...We have his DNA"  
  
'About his own son, no less. What kind of monster are you Ikari?'  
  
***  
  
The PR people worked on the first level of NERV. The only place allowed by all personnel, it was constantly busy. These people didn't know Ritsuko and treated her as another blonde. She shoved her way to the desk where the secretary ignored her, until Dr. Akagi flashed her I.D. card in her face. She was allowed into the office of a Mr. Tamamoto.  
  
"Please accept my apologies Miss Akagi. I am..." the man greeted from his chair  
  
"I don't care. I'm here to set a place for one Shinji Ikari to live" brushed the annoyed Ritsuko "He is to live alone"  
  
"Okay..." Tamamoto sounded very unpleasant "I'm sorry but the last vacant housing district went to a...Toji Suzuhara"  
  
"Bunk them together" Ritsuko ordered  
  
"His family is living with him, there's no more room for anyone"  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
***  
  
Shinji had no where to go. We didn't want to have to live with Asuka momentarily or over-stay his welcome at the Suzuhara's. He waited patiently by Hyuga, discussing with him the things he felt as Eva pilot. The conversation begin to go to a standstill until the lift brought one Ritsuko Akagi up.  
  
"O-oh, Ritsuko! Have you found a place for me to live?" he had no remorse with leaving Hyuga  
  
"Yes, please go to this address" she handed him a small slip of paper  
  
Shinji opened it up quickly and stared at it "What! I don't want to live with her!"  
  
"To bad, you either live with her or on the street"  
  
"B-but what Ayanami...?" he protested to the idea  
  
"I've contacted commander Ikari and he doesn't want you living there"  
  
"But I left Asuka to, to get away. N-now your putting me back in?"  
  
"I'm sorry Shinji but this is your only choice"  
  
"Yes ma'am" a perturbed Shinji obeyed  
  
***  
  
The twelve monoliths. The puppeteers of the world, motionless in the black void, discussing the strings to pull.  
  
"We have confirmed it" seven informed  
  
"So the moon will rise?" one questioned  
  
"Indeed" seven confirmed  
  
"And of the need for the 'Lance of Longinus'?" one inquired  
  
"Sadly we can only replicate so much. Before the lance was heaved we had completed a 33% clone" three reported  
  
"And now?" one wanted  
  
"We are 800% behind schedule. We now only have a 34% clone with limitations of 40%" three sadly said  
  
"What is the percentage of Unit 01's A.T. field?" one questioned  
  
"With the duplicate lance it will be -750%" three explained  
  
"Good" one faded out, the others followed  
  
***  
  
Shinji Ikari kept looking at the address, trying to see if it was real. He couldn't believe they had sent him there. 'From the fire into the fire' he presumed of the situation. He took the same bus, transferred the same time, walked down the same hallway, and knocked on the same door. He waited, wondering if there was someone there and remembered the buzz. He allowed it to go for a few moments before wondering where she was. 'C'mon, open up. It's cold out here'  
  
"Um, is anyone there?" Shinji called out, unsure of the answer  
  
"Yes, third child" a familiar voice called out  
  
"Uh, may I come in?" the reluctant pilot asked  
  
"Of course"   
  
Shinji had barely heard the last words before the door was opened. Behind stood a vision of loveliness; the same school uniform, the same expression upon her face, the same eyes, and the same blue hair.  
  
"H-hello Ayanami!" he bowed low for the clone  
  
"Yes pilot Ikari?" the albino calmly asked  
  
"Uh, um, ah, R-Ritsuko..."  
  
"Did Dr. Akagi send you?"  
  
"Um, yes. I-I'm supposed to board with you"  
  
"I see. Please come in"  
  
"T-thank you"  
  
Shinji waited several moments before he dared step into the apartment. It was the same as always, dusty, dirty, and generally unkept. The same pair of broken glasses lying upon the dresser that held her undergarments. He stared about the place as though he had never seen it before.  
  
"Pilot Ikari? Are you coming?" Rei had come back to get him  
  
"O-oh, yes ma'am" he obeyed diligently with a jog  
  
Rei opened the door past her bathroom. It occurred to Shinji that he had never seen it before. It showed a second bedroom, however it had in it a desk, lamp and some papers strewn about.  
  
"This shall be your room" the clone monotonly stated  
  
"I see"  
  
"I am not sure of the greeting...I believe it is; welcome home"  
  
Shinji gazed around the place; with a bit of cleanliness it would be a good room "The place I call home..."   
  
***  
  
Note: a little shorter then my other chapters but hey, I canned the original idea and had to go pure writing please review 


	6. The mailman said 'You can only choose on

Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion. If I did, it'd be rich but anyone it belongs to ADVision and GANAIX  
  
Notes: the last chapter was very short for what it used to be. Btw Gendo's first choice was for Shinji to live alone but he had no objections to him living with Rei.  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 6: The mailman said 'You can only choose one package'  
  
Shinji Ikari could never really adjust to a new home. From his parent's house to his uncles' to Misato's to Rei's, he never felt comfortable. It wasn't, however, due to Rei's distance. It was due to the way his deeply troubled psyche handled various situations. Adjusting was something he couldn't do, like during school. He had trouble adjusting to the idea of not hearing Asuka anymore. She was always silent now, like he was when he first moved to Kanto. But Rei slowly began to talk a little, not a lot, but a few little unnecessary details. It made him...comfortable  
  
"I should like to eat sashimi" the albino slowly muttered out  
  
"A-alright, do you want take-out or me to make it?"  
  
"It does not matter"  
  
The boy smiled and made way to the kitchen "Well, it'll be ready in about a half hour"  
  
"Thank you"  
  
Shinji readied the meal and served it to Rei, she smiled in thanks and began to eat. 'Maybe she can be like she used to be' he looked intently at her, when he was caught he smiled a wide smile.   
  
"Why do you smile needlessly?" puzzled the clueless Rei  
  
"Well, it, uh, feels good"  
  
She tried it. 'She has a beautiful smile' he reasoned. It was elegant and sweet with an innocence to it. They finished the home-cooked meal and afterwards split the dishes 'She's so unlike Asuka; yin to yang. She's is so good with some evil but...I've never seen it'. Upon completion Shinji retired to his new room, Rei staying in the kitchen. He listened to his SDATs, half expecting to hear Asuka and Misato scream at him for breakfast. 'The calm is so...peaceful' he precluded over his current predicament before drifting into an eternity of slumber.  
  
***  
  
A small, awkward boy stands in an endless void. What is this? His world? The world he wants? Or is it the lobby to the dining room? He looks around; nothing.   
  
"Shinji" a gentle elegant voice calls   
  
He turns to the origin; a small boy with an aura, or was it Shinji's mind?   
  
"Kowaru!" Shinji ran to the boy but found he got no closer  
  
"This is not a meeting without circumstances"  
  
"W-what is it Kowaru?"   
  
"You seem at peace with yourself"  
  
"I am"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I don't see Asuka all the time, s-she's not there to make fun of me, order me..."  
  
"Love you?"  
  
"N-no"  
  
"So, you think your happy because you are rid of Unit 02's pilot?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"Shinji, you Lilum have never understood anything. Happiness is not made or broken by a single choice, it is the culmination of these choices. You ran from Asuka and found Rei. Rei makes you happy because she is quiet, but does Asuka make you sad because she is eccentric?"  
  
"T-that's not it, s-she hits me, she teases me, she..."  
  
"Hurt you, once" the messenger held up a single finger "unintentionally, she meant to teach you a lesson, not injure you. And for that you have punished her by leaving. Was that the right decision?"  
  
"...I-I don't know. Was it?"  
  
The fifth child gave a slight chuckle to this "I cannot answer that. What the right decision is will make you happiest in the end"  
  
The angel made a slight wave of his arms to bring up a void of light. In it appeared an albino, relatively young, for an adult.  
  
***  
  
Rei Ayanami Ikari sat at an oak desk, finely polished. On the other side sat her husband; Shinji Ikari.   
  
"Do you really think we should face him?" the wife asked, head resting on her hand  
  
"I do. Humankind cannot co-exist with an entity with as much power as celufri"  
  
"Some parts are of things destined to happen; you cannot hear them" the messenger informed from the outside  
  
"That is true but to pilot it is...something we delegate to a child"  
  
"Maybe but..." he rested his head back on his leather chair "being one of the children to pilot the angels I cannot give this task to another, knowing what he will suffer"  
  
"That is very noble but...where shall I and...your son be if you die?"  
  
"I am the head of NERV, this world shall end if I fail" he stood up, stating his point  
  
"P-perhaps we could make another one of...me"  
  
He looked at his wife "Never, to compromise existence is something no man should have the power over...besides after father's discovery of Unit 01 no one else could have a chance of synching with it"  
  
"I suppose but promise me you'll be safe" she looked up with innocent eyes  
  
"Don't worry if I fail you'll see me fairly soon" he smiled a bright smile. She returned it and, standing up wished him luck with a kiss.  
  
***  
  
A different place. A red headed vixen about his age stands in a briefing room. She is accompanied by four others. It appears as though the briefing is over. The five leave, splitting their separate ways, with the red head and another staying together.  
  
"Oh Shinji!" she coos, hanging onto his arm  
  
"Y-yes Asuka?" he asks, staring nervously at her  
  
"Are you scared? I mean, fighting against the last moden?"  
  
"N-no, I'm scared that I'll lose you"  
  
"Your sweet" she kissed him on the cheek  
  
"Thanks"  
  
"Hey, you wanna eat somethin'?"  
  
"I guess" he smiled at her, she returned it  
  
They went to a restaurant and sat down in a booth. They ordered and finished rather quickly. The bill came and Asuka looked expectantly at him.  
  
"Well...?"  
  
"Well, uh, I-I don't have any money"  
  
"WHAT?!" the exclamation attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant  
  
He ducked down into his seat, avoiding the gaze of the girl "Asuka, keep it down"  
  
"Do you expect ME to pay?"  
  
"Well, I, uh..."  
  
She brushed him off "See you at home" and walked out. This left the scared boy to pick up the bill, he had no money. As an exchange he had to wash dishes for a few hours.  
  
***  
  
"You see Shinji, these are what await you"  
  
"S-so, if I decide to fall in love with Rei I'll be the head of NERV?"  
  
"No, these are possible scenarios that could take place. Like the one I played for you in your mind a few months back. They are things that can happen but may not"  
  
"But why?"  
  
"There is no such thing as fate, anything that happens does because it does. If you get out of bed at ten one thing will happen but if you get out at ten o 1 then it will be different. These are possible scenarios. If you fall in love with Asuka or Rei will not guarantee anything respective. However, they will not drift that far. Rei will never be as eccentric as Asuka and her not as quiet as Rei. Neither will be as outspoken as Misato and Misato will never be like any of them"  
  
"...I see"  
  
"So Shinji, if you had to choose and could not change it right now, who would you choose?"  
  
"..."  
  
The angel made a wave of his arm to assimilate the two screens. They formed the face of the different girls one after another.  
  
"Shinji Ikari" a gentle voice asks  
  
"SHINJI!!" a far louder voice orders  
  
The voices don't come from the screens, he spins to the direction to find two women; Asuka Langley Sohryu and Rei Ayanami.   
  
"It is your life Shinji"  
  
"But Kowaru, why do I have to make this decision?"  
  
"You will never be at ease until you do, it will affect everything"  
  
He stands alone for a few moments, the presence of his friend unfelt. The two girls stand before him, waiting. He takes a stride and continues walking until he is caught in the embrace of the he choose. She calls his name.  
  
"I had a feeling you'd choose her"  
  
***  
  
"Shinji?" the voice repeats  
  
"Uh...Ayanami?"  
  
"Yes, you have slept for awhile"  
  
"D-do you want breakfast or something" he smacks his eye with his palm, trying to awaken himself  
  
"I have already made breakfast, yours will get cold" she bends down to inspect him  
  
He retracts his palm and looks up "Uh, thanks"  
  
"Your welcome" she stands up again and walks to the door  
  
"...I made...the right choice" he says to himself  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Oh? Never mind, I'll be out in a minute"  
  
She finished taking the last steps to get out the door, leaving him alone.   
  
"I made the right choice. Thanks Kowaru"  
  
***  
  
Note: okay, that was so freaking short and took so freaking long but I was moving yada, yada. Anyway the next chap I hope will be out soon and the 2nd scenario begins! 


	7. Press 'Start' to begin 'The Second Scena

Disclaimer: Evangelion does not belong to me. It belongs to GANIX and ADVision. Squat would probably happen to me if this wasn't here but whatever.  
  
Note: If there is anyone who for whatever reason likes my story then sorry for the delay. For some reason I got out of Eva then my friends wanted to watch it and so here's the next chapter. Oh well, I hope none of you guessed what the 2nd scenario was but here it is now.  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 7: Press 'Start' to begin 'The Second Scenario'  
  
"So, I heard your bunkin' with Ayanami" the 4th child emphasized the name  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"So...c'mon, everyone knows ya look" he made a goofy face  
  
Shinji jumped out of his desk at the accusation "Jah...What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"C'mon, ya gotta be a ladies man. First you live with Misato, then you date Asuka, regardless of the bitch she is that's how they come, and now Ayanami! Tell me you don't know what I'm sayin"  
  
"Yeah, c'mon Shinji tell us" the puberty-infected voice urged  
  
"I-it's not like that"  
  
"C'mon, Asuka's depressed every since ya came to ma house, no way you just left. The devil wouldn't cry at something pitiful like that" he jammed a thumb in the red-heads direction  
  
"N-no really, it's not like that!"  
  
"Your no fun" Toji crossed his arms and awaited the ever recurring questions from Kensuke  
  
"Yeah...So...Toji, what's it like to pilot an Eva?" he spat the words out so fast they were just audible  
  
"It's weird" it seemed like he had this rehearsed  
  
"Like how weird?"  
  
"I don know, ask Shinji, he's done this more then me" he shrugged   
  
"Yeah Shinji, what's it like?" the boy had no problem with bugging Shinji  
  
"Oh, it's...different, you can feel the stuff happening but...it's not really happening. It's like one big VR game"  
  
"Wow" he had received this answer many times but it never ceased to amaze him  
  
"Why didja 'cide to do it Toji? After what happened before" the 3rd and 4th child had already informed Kensuke of the mishap "If you didn't pilot...I could!"  
  
"Yeah, Toji. Why did you decide to pilot that thing again?" this was the first time the question had been brought up  
  
This had never been asked before and Toji didn't feel like answering it "I-I just did!"  
  
"Alright, stand up!" the class rep interrupted  
  
Like soldiers the students stood "Now Bow!" they followed "Sit down" the students sat down at their leisure   
  
The blind teacher got up to the front of the room, adjusting his glasses as he did so "Alright...It has come to my attention that 'A midsummer nights dream' is unable to retain any of yours. As such we shall read 'Nobunaga's desire'" what this actually meant was that he would read, as it was in Japanese, while they dozed off into their pleasant dreams of other places.  
  
***  
  
The bell rang to interrupt the unneeded history lesson, indicating it was time for the students to feed themselves. The 3 stooges had retreated to the rooftop they used so often. Their lunches just about finished their mouths were free to talk.  
  
"Seriously Toji, I know that you wouldn't want to pilot the Eva so..." Shinji wanted to know why his friend made such an important decision the way he did  
  
"Just drop it Shinji" Toji interrupted and silenced  
  
"Wow, so ahh, do you guys know if there's going to be another attack?"  
  
"No" Shinji turned from Toji to Kensuke "We thought the one before last was going to be the last one"  
  
"That's weird, my dad's files don't even have any info on the attacks. It says they were supposed to stop a long time ago"  
  
"There were supposed to be 17 but after the last one no ones sure"  
  
"Yeah, we still have to go through synch tests almost every day, those things are the most tedious tests ever. It's always the same thing, sit. Concentrate. Get scores. Leave."  
  
"They're not that bad, as long as it keeps them from yelling"  
  
"What are you talking about? They're like 5 hours of sitting in a tube being berated by Asuka"  
  
"I guess..." the 3rd child choose to retreat for now before being interrupted by his roommate  
  
"Shinji, Pilot Suzuhara. Our presence is demanded at headquarters. Will you two be leaving shortly?"  
  
"Uh, uh, I'll be right there" Shinji contemplated what to do for a moment before dumping the contents of his lunch onto Kensuke's lap  
  
"Eew, what am I supposed to do with..." his speech was interrupted by the remnants of Toji's lunch landing on his head "Ahhhh!"  
  
***  
  
The trio found themselves at NERV headquarters before they would have had to be in class. They hadn't run into Asuka along the way but Shinji liked it better that way. The entire headquarters had been placed on first level alert and the children were quickly hurried off towards the change room. Seemingly waiting for them was the second child; Asuka Langley.  
  
"Well 3rd child, better late then never?" she flashed her smirk at him before preparing to leave "Glad you showed up"  
  
"You could've stayed at school, you never help with the angels" his voice was uncharacteristically cold as he continued towards his specified change room, not allowing his ex to get in the last word  
  
"Jeez, wasn't that a bit harsh?" the 4th child withdrew his plug suit from his locker, removing his clothes afterwards  
  
"Let's just get this over with" Shinji had already discarded his school clothes for his plug suit   
  
"A'kay Shinji, I guess it's yours to deal with..." Toji pushed the button to tighten his suit and followed his friend to the cage  
  
The four selected children were loaded into their entry plugs and prepared for insertion. All the restraints were removed and the Evas prepared for lift-off. Before the inevitable battle was to begin Misato came over the intercom to brief them of the situation.  
  
"Alright everyone, we have just received visual confirmation of the target; the 19th angel"  
  
'19? This is 18 if Kowaru was right" Shinji found it hard to trust what Misato was saying but continued listening  
  
"Now the target is similar in shape to a Eva"  
  
"An Eva, a single Eva?!" Asuka couldn't hold the wonder out of her voice  
  
"Do not doubt your enemies Asuka. Now, Rei and Shinji have the highest sync ratios so they will be taking the lead with Asuka and Toji remaining here as backup"  
  
"What! Why do I have to be backup. I can do a better job then Shinji!"  
  
"Asuka, your sync ratio has yet to recover. This is to big of a risk to allow you to take the lead"  
  
"...Fine" she grinded her teeth for a moment, smiting her commander and guardian  
  
"Alright then! Time to launch!"  
  
After Misato gave the command the two Evas chosen to lead the attack were simultaneously released on the surface. The towers had finished retreating to the Geofront. The battlefield was ready. The second scenario was about to begin.  
  
"Ayanami?" Shinji's tone held worry for his friend  
  
"Yes Pilot Ikari?" hers' was monotonous as always  
  
"We're gonna make it back"  
  
"Why would you say something like that?"  
  
"I want us both to make it back, I-I will...watch your back"  
  
"I, too, will re-inforce you"  
  
"Alright you two, the angel will arrive in 60 seconds"  
  
"Alright Misato"  
  
"I am ready Major Katsuragi"  
  
There would be no surprises this time. The two had a clear view for where the angel would arrive. A full minute passed then, as informed, the angel arrived. It's skin was smooth but no doubt hard. Its arms were paper-thin but long. The legs were proportional but looked as though they may not be able to lift this thing.  
  
The pilots made the first move; Shinji pelted a volley of bullets at it while Rei made her way behind it. Shinji's gun ran out of ammo before Rei had started her blast. Her gun was readied but the brief break had allowed the angel to use its razor arms to cleave the gun in half forcing Rei to evade to the side. Shinji was at least 200 feet away from his target but it was more then able to extend it's arms to cleave the gun in Unit 01's hands. The angel brought its hands back, choosing to stab himself with them. It cleaved itself in 2, splitting apart. The angel's 2 sides then recovered their lost forms, making 2 angels for the pilots to deal with.  
  
***  
  
"Shit!" Misato cursed after seeing the angel's first move  
  
"What should I do ma'am?" her admirer wanted to know  
  
"Launch Unit 02 and Unit 15!"   
  
***  
  
The angel had separated the two pilots. It arms were unbelievably powerful, able to cleave through the Eva's armor in just once slice. The battle seemed grim but the remaining Evas were dispatched to turn the tide.  
  
"Alright Shinji! I knew you couldn't do this by yourself!" the proud Asuka quickly drew her own gun and lined up Shinji's angel "Watch how easy this is!"  
  
Asuka didn't wait for Shinji to get out of the way but he managed to. The redheaded vixen was about to pull the trigger until the razor sharp arm cleaved her gun in half to.  
  
***  
  
"Dammit! It seems to be able to recall what these things do so it won't let them use it anymore!"  
  
"Major Katsuragi, we could send them a positron lance" Ibuki suggested  
  
"Not yet, let's save that for a last resort. We should try to keep a distance away from this creature"  
  
"Y'know Misato, we may have to use my..." Ritsuko attempted to suggest  
  
"Listen Ritsuko, it's not that I don't trust you it's just that...I don't want to use it without testing it"  
  
"I understand"  
  
"I've got it!"  
  
***  
  
The Eva pilots had broken into two groups; male and female. Toji was the closet to the supply points, which popped open.  
  
"Toji, take the pistol and fire a shot at the angel" the voice of his crushed appeared over his intercom  
  
"Yes ma'am" Toji, being an inexperienced child, had to walk slowly towards the pistol  
  
The angel had discarded Shinji to the ground, beginning to charge towards Toji. The scared child pulled the trigger once, the bullet hitting the angel directly in the core. Toji pulled the trigger again but this time the angel extended it's arm to both block the bullet and slice off Unit 15's arm.   
  
"Aaaaahhhhhh!!!!!" the 4th child screamed loudly in pain despite the voice of Misato telling him that it wasn't his arm  
  
***  
  
"Dammit!" Dr. Akagi swore at this turn of events "Bring it back! Now!"  
  
"We can't, the Eva is nowhere near a launch pad!"   
  
"Shit!" Misato clenched her fists at the sight before recomposing herself "Alright, we need to send a lance and any shield to the pilots"  
  
"What are you planning Major?" Ritsuko was demanding more then asking  
  
"You'll see"   
  
***  
  
Asuka was finding it hard to perform all the stunts she was able to when she had her ratios up to normal. Her Eva had been grazed by the attacks many times but she still had not been directly hit. However when the 4th child was immobilized her guard had been let down. The angel took advantage of this, using its razor arms to stab Asuka in both of hers'. She screamed, demanding that Rei help her but her partner was now found closer to Ikari. Despite her screaming she was still able to hear the plan that was being formed.  
  
"Alright you two, the angel seems to allow itself to be attack once, then the weapon is useless. Because of this we feel it important to use a positron lance. Rei, you will take the shield and distract the angel while Shinji takes the lance and stabs the angel, thereby eradicating it. Understood?"  
  
"Yes ma'am"  
  
A small shield popped up beside a long lance. Rei was closer to the items and choose to throw the lance to Shinji while she picked up the shield. The angel was charging Shinji but the 1st child distracted it with an attack with the shield. The angel spun and used its arms to try to pierce Rei but the shield managed to hold. Shinji took hold of the lance and approached the angel from behind. Raising it high above the head he prepared to bring it down on the angel but was halted when he heard Asuka.  
  
"Shinji! Help me please!"   
  
Shinji glanced over, finding that the angel had removed the protective coating of Unit 02, attempting to smash it's power crystal. He paused for a moment, recalling the words of Kowaru.  
  
You must make a choice. It will affect everything  
  
He looked back and forth. Like his dream they were the same two girls and like the dream he had to make a choice then and there. There was Asuka who was in dire straits and Rei, who was being covered well. Shinji contemplated for a moment before taking a few steps in Asuka's direction.  
  
***  
  
"What? Are you sure?" Misato questioned one of the messengers sent to her  
  
"I'm sorry ma'am but I don't know much more then that"  
  
"Go find out then!"  
  
"Yes ma'am"  
  
"You heard him Hyuga. If this is true then prepare the launch deck"  
  
"Understood"  
  
***  
  
Asuka was relieved. Had Shinji forgiven her? Could they live happily again? Could she have peace once more? All questions were answered when the 3rd child turned again, heaving the lance at the angel attacking Rei. He readied himself for the attack as the angel flailed, finally breaking Unit 14's shield. When the shield fell Rei was off balance and fell to all fours. The began swinging it's arms and with it's last motion it would cleave off Unit 14's head. Shinji made the same choice as he had two times before and leapt to push Rei out of the way. However, while Rei was saved and the angel dead, Unit 01 had gone silent.  
  
Rei slowly got up. The first thing she saw was that Asuka was no longer trying to defend herself. The clone sprinted towards the angel, drawing its prog knife on it. It stabbed it in the side, using the momentum to lift it off of Asuka. The pilot of Unit 02 did not bother lifting her Eva off the ground, leaving Unit 14 and it's pilot to fight the last angel. Rei threw the knife but the angel broke it. Unit 14 threw a kick into the head of the angel but had its foot sliced off. Before it could fall the angel made it go silent by dismembering it.  
  
***  
  
"No! It-we, we failed..." Ritsuko slammed her hands upon the control panels, grumbling something underneath her breath  
  
"Maybe not" Misato still held a confident look in her eyes  
  
"How can you say that?"  
  
"Don't worry, besides you'll get to see your invention"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just watch"  
  
***  
  
The angel stepped over towards where the 4th angel had drilled through the ground, choosing that place to start it's decent. It used its arms to dig through the ground and then to cleave the metal when it reached it. It had reached the first barrier when it had been sliced in the back. It stumbled forward, turning around after. Before it stood another Eva with a much larger prog knife, more like a sword, in it's hands. The angel attack with both its arms on a level plane but the Eva leveled the sword, which easily reduced the arms to nothing. The new Eva then sprinted to the angel and stabbed through the angel's core, causing it to go silent.  
  
***  
  
"I-I'm sorry Misato" Shinji bowed low to his superior, apologizing for the battle before. Behind him stood the rest of the Eva pilots  
  
"Don't worry about it Shinji. Oh, by the way, meet your savior"  
  
Another child appeared from the darkness, along with a man "Hello Shinji"   
  
"Kowaru!?"  
  
"Kaji!?"  
  
***  
  
Note: Okay I lied. You don't find out what the second scenario is but it does start. Anyway I hope this time the next chapter will be out soon. Later. 


	8. A small act of kindness

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion. So on, so on...  
  
Note: Thanks to those who gave the last chapter kind words. I hope to be able to conclude this fic very soon but if I do what I originally intended then this will be a very long fic. We'll see.  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 8: A small act of kindness  
  
"Kowaru!?"  
  
"Kaji!?"  
  
"Do I know you?" the seemingly omnipotent boy asked of Shinji  
  
"What?" Shinji is taken aback by Kowaru's comment   
  
"Oh, are you the famous 3rd child? I am pleased to meet you. My name is Kowaru Nagisa" the 17th angel gives a bow to Shinji, his hair covering his face  
  
"Oh my god! He is soooo much cuter then you!" the energetic Asuka ran up to Kowaru, gripping him tightly  
  
Quite embarrased by this the 3rd child slowly walks up to Asuka and taps her on the shoulder "Ah, Asuka?"  
  
"What?" she seemed annoyed by Shinji's intrusion  
  
"He's, ah..." he slowly whispers in her ear the rest of his speech  
  
"WHAT!? HE'S GAY!?" she quickly relinquished her grip on the child  
  
"Gay? I don't feel that it's fair that you judge me like that. I merely...follow those that I love. If they be men, then they are men and if they are women, then they are women. To love someone is to find someone that you could live life with" an air of intelligence seemed to surround the child as he spoke  
  
"...Ewww" Asuka slowly side-stepped the opininated Kowaru to the arms of Kaji  
  
"Hello Asuka, I trust that you have been well?" Kaji kept his smile on, using a single arm to comfort the child  
  
"Oh Kaji, it's been terrible since you left...say, why did you leave?"  
  
Kaji thought for a moment before slapping his head and bursting out a laugh "Don't worry about it kiddo, I'm here to stay this time"  
  
The Major turned away from her ex, fuming with a mix of rage and anguish "Why did you even bother to come back?!"   
  
"Now Katsuragi, don't be like that. Remember how we were before we left?"  
  
"Don't remind me!" with that Misato stormed out of the cage to an unknown destinaion  
  
"...Well, that was awkward. Ah, Shinji I have heard that much has been going on in your life, care to elaberate?" the older man lightly patted Asuka's back   
  
"Uh, actually..." the surprised Shinji began   
  
"Oh, it doesn't matter 3rd child!" her words had a sting to them, like a knife bearing through the flesh  
  
"Now, now. Can't you all get along? I know, I'll take all of you out to a steak dinner, how does that sound?"  
  
"Aww, Kaji. Do they have to come?" her voice echoed with ice  
  
"Now Asuka, it is far better to get along with your co-workers then not to" he had a fatherly tone reflecting in his voice "Anyway, why don't you all get changed and then we'll head out"  
  
"I dislike eating meat" the cool reflection in Rei's voice was monotonous  
  
"C'mon Rei, they'll have something other then steak" Shinji's arm somehow found it's way onto Rei's shoulders  
  
The lifeless child smiled a warm smile before answering "Alright Shinji"  
  
***  
  
Pure evil seeps into the black room. The twelve monoliths and Gendo Ikari sit dormant. Not a shred of decency seeps anywhere in the room.  
  
"Well Ikari, it has come to our attention that you were able to predict this event?" three demanded  
  
"Indeed, and there will be many similar attacks following"  
  
"So the dark moon begins to turn, attempting to best the celestial moon for the right to bring darkness unto this planet?" one philosophized  
  
"In simpler words, yes"  
  
"Then we shall allow you to continue to use the Evangelions for now but no that failure will not be tolerated" twelve informed  
  
"When has it ever?"  
  
"Just succeed Ikari" one finished the meeting before disappearing, the others following  
  
The head of NERV waited some moments before voicing his thoughts "The cards are being dealt but they don't know that the dealer has an ace up his sleeve"  
  
***  
  
The sounds of silence were dominant with the children, only the eager voice of Kaji could be heard. No words were spoken between them, the adult acting as a medium point between them. Coming towards the meals conclusion Kaji required a visit to the restroom, leaving the children alone. The former couple of Shinji and Asuka continually gave each other glares, until mutiny broke through.  
  
"Why didn't you save me you bastard!?" Asuka's outbreak demanded stares from the others in the restaurant  
  
Uncharacteristically, Shinji stood up to his berator "I decided to follow the mission!...Your life was of little concern to me then!"  
  
"Ah..." Asuka could not find words to counter Shinji's coldness, but her mind had words ready 'So, where is your saviour now? You see? He does not care, nobody does. The only person who will be with you forever is me. Now, you have proved yourself useless, join me Asuka. Be forever with peace...'  
  
"No!" the demented 2nd child gripped her head tightly, lowering it towards the table "He must still care, he must..." she whispered the last words so that only she could hear them  
  
Immediately after she began clutching her head the redheaded vixen got up, running out of the restaurant. She appeared to be crying but Shinji couldn't get enough of a look to determine it.  
  
"Well, that was awkward" the 4th child shrugged his shoulders, thinking it was merely a lover's quarrel  
  
"Hey, I leave you all for like two minutes and I see Asuka running out, bawling her eyes out" Kaji sighed a long sigh but decided not to chase after her "She probably just has to blow off some steam"  
  
***  
  
Shinji still found it odd to walk into Rei's apartment everyday, even when he was with her. It just didn't feel like home but he merely decided that that was because he hadn't lived there long.  
  
"Pilot Ikari, why did you sacrifice your Eva for my benefit?" the eyes' of Rei stared straight at him, baring into his soul almost  
  
"Ah, well" this was awkward, even he didn't know why "I...I guess I just didn't want you to get hurt"  
  
"...Thank you, Shinji" she smiled at him, feeling more comfortable with him now  
  
His roommate's sudden kindness was new to him, taking him aback "Oh, ah, ah, it was nothing Rei. Ha, ha" he tried to laugh it off but it stuck with him  
  
As the boy laughed the girl slowly walked up to him and planted a small kiss onto his cheek. This halted Shinji's laughter.  
  
"Wha-what was that for?"  
  
"Ah, I'm not sure...it just felt...right. Did I do something wrong?"  
  
"N-no, there was nothing wrong about that. I-it just took me by surprise"  
  
"Why are you blushing Shinji?" she eyes him curiously, as though this is something she has never before witnessed  
  
"Huh? Ah-I-I don't know" his face reddens more as he stares nervously around the room  
  
"Is something bothering you Shinji?"  
  
"N-n-no Rei..." there is an awkward pause. One that's he only seen in comics, right before the love scenes "I-I got to go to bed, I'm very tired" he laughs and stumbles past her towards his room  
  
Rei watches him for a moment before undressing. 'Odd, what are these...things welling up in my heart?' she thinks as she unbuttons her shirt, lying down onto her bed  
  
***  
  
"So, shall we take another synch test?" Ritsuko peered down upon the children, as thought they were her children  
  
There were many groans from the children but the doctor ignored them. They moved in a single file towards the entry plugs and then entered them. The tests went fine but left the children exhausted afterwards. They made their way towards the change rooms leaving the emotional redhead behind.  
  
'Your wasting your time Asuka my dear' this time the voice in her head belonged to her mother 'Do you think that anyone could love you anymore then your mother?'  
  
"No, you're wrong. He still loves me, I know he does..." she hugged her sides for support and spoke to the ground but only loud enough for her ears  
  
'Then why did he abandon you? Why were you left alone? Because there is no one left that loves you. Come Asuka, join me in this bliss. Join your mother, as you were meant to'  
  
"No, No! You'll see, you'll see" Asuka had gone into a sprint to prove her mind wrong  
  
She ran even when her breath became ragged, trying to fight the voices in her head. To prove them wrong. She neared the changeroom, hoping to catch her hope there. She did to.  
  
"...Shinji?" she thought it was fake, that it was a lie  
  
'You see, it is inevitable. Did you need to see your life crumple before your eyes whereas you could have merely trusted my from the beginning'  
  
"No...he wouldn't, he couldn't" she whispered it to herself, her eyes fixated  
  
'Yet he did, you have no hold over him any longer. Have you learned your lesson? Come Asuka, join me, for in this place you shall never be alone again'  
  
"Mama...?"  
  
Asuka backed up a little, falling down to her knees, her eyes balling out. No longer could she control the tears. The voices in her head began swimming around, clogging up everything. She tried to stifle her tears so that Shinji wouldn't hear her. He may not have heard her but he did see her.  
  
"Hey Asuka, what's wrong?"  
  
***  
  
There ya go. My pathetic attempt at suspense. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope the next one will be out later. C'ya. 


	9. If you don't know a language you may mis

Disclaimer: Evangelion. Does. Not. Belong. To. Me.  
  
Note: ok. I am getting the idea of ditching what I got planned for this fic. Instead I may just make it pure romance and drama so on   
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 9: If you don't know a language you may misinterpret the words  
  
"Hey Asuka, what's wrong?"  
  
The 3rd child stopped in his tracks when he saw his comrade hugging her knees by a wall. The proud Asuka backed up quickly and ran from him.  
  
"That was weird"  
  
"What was Shinji?" a voice spoke, it's author unknown  
  
"Asuka, she just ran away"  
  
"That is odd, perhaps she is angry with something?"   
  
***  
  
'Stupid Shinji. I-I don't need him. I can't believe I'm shedding tears over that idiot' the 2nd child had come to halt after leaving the NERV facility. She wished that she had been wearing something with sleeves so that she could wipe the remaining tears off her cheek. 'Stupid, if he wants to have that-that doll over me then so be it!' her face became to beam with pride once more, a small smile crept upon her lips.  
  
"It's his loss if he picked Rei over Asuka!" she placed her arms on her hips, her trademark smile beaming "Dummkopf"  
  
***  
  
A familiar door slid open. Behind it walked in the 1st and 3rd child leveled in distance. The albino seemed to be quite distant and allowed the boy to lead them in. It had occurred to her that Shinji had tidied up the place; no longer did it look so dark and gloomy. She did not know why but she felt...grateful for it.  
  
"Why did you clean this place?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought...it would look nice"  
  
"Oh, thank you" she came up behind him, a smile plastered on  
  
The 1st child walked around, her eyes seemed focus on one point but it was apparent she appreciated this. Shinji felt his cheek, it having flushed red just moments ago. Smiling to himself the 3rd child went to his room to begin his homework.  
  
***  
  
Kowaru slowly strides, making his way towards Gendo Ikari's domain. His hands were planted in his pockets, his face held an air saying that his errand was more important then anyone else's. And it was.  
  
"The 4th child. Come" Gendo didn't look up from his work; his eyes kept searching a document he was reading  
  
"What did you summon me for?" he sounded like an adult now, his voice stern and decisive  
  
Gendo raised his head at the sound of Kowaru's different voice "You are aware of what your previous vendetta was, are you not?"  
  
"Yes, to infiltrate and defeat Pilot Ikari so that I may take hold of Evangelion Unit 01"  
  
"But you did not attempt to do this, even though it would have been possible to kill the 3rd child you choose to leave your Evangelion to it's own devices, thus ensuring defeat. Why was that?"  
  
"I made no difference as to whether I lived or died. One way I would be closer to god and another I would not. Shinji, on the other hand, would suffer eternally had I succeeded" as his speech reached Shinji his voice softened, back to it's elegant tone  
  
"But you still continued on towards Adam, part of you must have been intent upon completing your task. Why did you stop?"  
  
Kowaru laughed shortly at this "You as well as I know that that creature was Lilith, not Adam. To come into contact with Lilith would have...catastrophic results, perhaps even enough so to destroy the world and heaven above"  
  
"Heaven above? What makes you so sure?"  
  
"The piece missing from Lilith, the one called...Ayanami Rei, is the missing piece. Adam was formed into a more catatonic state, of which was forced upon by humans. This procedure is what spawned the various disciples and apostles to come forth. Each one is a remainder of Adam left behind. I would be the last missing piece"  
  
"Then you know of what you must do?"  
  
"I cannot understand an exceptional human such as you"  
  
"If Rei III were to fuse with Lilith there is no guarantee I could control the events to transpire. However, Adam can and will do the same thing"  
  
"And what makes you believe I will allow you to dictate the apocalypse?"  
  
"It makes no great difference to you, all I truly require is...a second chance"  
  
"Evangelion Unit 01 is also part angel, a piece of Adam. Your son could very easily do the same things I could"  
  
"But he would not, and he is the only one who can control Unit 01"  
  
"Surely my purpose cannot be the same as last time. I can tell you and Adam have merged vessels, if you wished for me to end it all you need do would be to touch me"  
  
"That black moon begins to turn, and the celestial moon has the weapons required. Lilith would only bring the celestial moon back to nothing whereas they both will bring it back to everything"  
  
"Do you seek appraisal from God? You will not receive it"  
  
"I only seek that which was taken from me"  
  
"I understand, I will...think about it"  
  
***  
  
Misato's head poked out from her room, slowly but surely it turned to look both ways. She tiptoed in her pajamas, hugging the left wall, until she peered around into the kitchen. All clear. Slowly she opened Asuka's door to see the girl changing herself. She thought this would be the perfect time as the 2nd child was without top. She made a small motion with her hands before keeping watch over Asuka's door.  
  
"I tell you Misato, that was quite refreshing"  
  
The sound of the barely shaved spy caused Misato's jaw to drop and she began forcing him into the kitchen. As she hoped against the 2nd child came running out topless to greet her childish crush.  
  
"Hello Asuka...a little chilly in here isn't it?" he nervously laughed at the sight before returning her hug  
  
"Oh Kaaaaaji, are you going to be living her now that the 3rd child is gone?" she emphasized the words with a large bit of sarcasm  
  
"Ha ha, 'fraid not. But I do believe that you will be late for school if you pause any longer"  
  
"Aw...Can we go shopping together later?"  
  
"Sure Asuka"  
  
With that he left, leaving the two barely dressed girls to themselves. They couldn't keep their hands off one another.   
  
"He's mine!" the two yelled out as they proceeded to hit each other  
  
***  
  
Ever since Asuka started school in Japan she had always had a large wealth of popularity and an even larger wealth of particular able boys wanting to date her. Even when she and Shinji briefly went out it had not deterred others from approaching her. As one would imagine on this day when she announced she was looking for a boyfriend it took her the majority of the day and hundreds of photos before she finally settled on one. Kojira Fama was a year older then her and the typical tough guy, hard face, lean body, and an attitude to match. At the age of 15 he already has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan Karate. They'd only been declared together for a good 10 minutes before his jealousy forced him to beat on Shinji. Without warning he jumped and knocked the Evangelion Pilot a number of times. Unable to see this unfair match the 4th child soon pounced on Fama's back before the fighter threw him over and began beating on him. Asuka looked quite pleased with this and was about to leave before a voice interrupted her.   
  
"Why do you still do this?" Rei asked gently as she inspected Shinji  
  
"What are you talking about? I didn't tell him to do that"  
  
"But you are doing nothing to stop it"  
  
"Cuz I'm Asuka"  
  
"But that doesn't explain why, you are no more special then anyone else here. Only you believe you are"  
  
"What does a freak like you know?" she found her voice had raised, bringing the attention of everyone still in school  
  
"I do not know. This is why I am asking you. What makes you so superior to everyone else here?"  
  
"Hey shut up you bitch" Fama had began to run to kick Ayanami even though Asuka didn't' want him to, however she choose to not voice her opinions. Before he could get it off though he was on the floor. An angelic being stood away from him, his arm being in perfect position to push him over  
  
"What the hell Nagisa?! You got a death wish?"  
  
"Death would be the next path for me"  
  
Kowaru stood there, his hands in his pockets. Fama was opposite him now; his arms and legs ready to attack at any moment. For being much thinner and smaller being the 5th child held a lot of confidence. Before a fight could get underway however Asuka had called back her boyfriend, lest she would have to reselect someone tougher.   
  
"I don't know what Shinji sees in you" Asuka and Fama walked away, arms locked, opposite from where Misato lived  
  
Rei sat there until the other students became disinterested and bored, she sat Shinji's head on her lap, contemplating what Asuka had said "What...?"   
  
***  
  
Goemen. Goemen. Goemen. Goemen. Goemen. (Bows profusely) I should have written this earlier, but I found myself uninspired. I'm pretty sure that there is going to be no one to read this fic anymore but meh, for my own closure I need to complete it. 


	10. Every action has a reaction

Disclaimer: I wish I didn't need this, it would mean I own Evangelion, which would in turn mean I was freaking, rich. But alas, I must put it in. okie dokie; Evangelion does not belong to me.  
  
Note: I suck at writing, being on time, and pretty much just being a writer.  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 10: Every action has a reaction   
  
"You are sure he is the final production model?"  
  
"Ikari, it is not wise to question the authenticity of this board"  
  
"My apologies"  
  
"But what do you need him for? It would have been just as easy, perhaps even convenient if he were to be designed in the prototype models. What if his mission is still with him?!"  
  
"Do not worry, he is completely derived of his prior desires. He only exists now to pilot Evangelion Unit 15"  
  
"Keep an eye on him Ikari"  
  
The 12 monoliths faded out one after another, leaving Gendo Ikari alone in his office. His hand reaches into his desk, and pulls out some sort of book. Various little post-its' are stuck in various places as Gendo flips through it, pursuing the object of his search.  
  
***  
  
Shinji and Misato seemed distant towards one another these days. Shinji seemed reluctant to speak with her and Misato would no longer show him that side of her. To this end, the two being asked to speak with Gendo Ikari was rather awkward. Forced to wait for some time, there were little to no words spoken between the two.   
  
"H-how are you?" Misato asked nervously, her eyes fixated on her knees  
  
"Uh, good. You must be happy that, uh, Kaji is back" he to was fairly reluctant to begin any conversation but he did miss her company  
  
She let out a slight chuckle, more of a forced nervous one "I, I guess...How is living with Rei?"  
  
"It's okay, she isn't as loud as Asuka is" he seemed to recall day long past, when the 3 lived together  
  
Misato let silence fill the room once again, she allowed the two to sit there for an undetermined amount of time before she felt she needed to say something "I-I miss you Shinji" she seemed to have to hold her tears back at that moment  
  
For the first time Shinji looked back at her, he missed her to but he didn't know if he could express those words "...M, m, me...to..."  
  
***  
  
The 1st child waited anxiously for the elevator to reach the 9th floor. In reality, she had no idea why she was here. It seemed to her that she shouldn't care, but she did. Why did it matter to her how Shinji felt? Perhaps she felt in-debt to him, but that wasn't it. She felt a responsibility to him, but why? She had no idea. A few residents walked past her, but she paid them no heed. Without realizing her feet had carried her outside her destination, slowly her finger came out and firmly pressed the buzzer. After a few moments of waiting, the door slid open.   
  
"..." Asuka had no words for her comrade, she was puzzled as to why she would come to her house  
  
"..." Rei herself could not find the appropriate words, something that was equally odd  
  
"What do you want wondergirl?"  
  
"..." She in reality did not know what she came for  
  
"Have you come to gloat that you somehow stole Shinji from me?" she glared at her as she said this "Of course, you did manage to do that so I guess I should give you some credit"  
  
"I...Why did you hurt Shinji yesterday?"  
  
"So that's why you're here" she seemed exasperated so just shrugged her shoulders, hoping she would accept that as an answer  
  
"Surely you must know. Humans do not do things just for the sake of it"  
  
"Why? He deserved it, dumping me and then just going to you so quickly. But that wasn't' what happened! You stole him from me, I know you did!" her words were becoming erratic and her motions seemed dangerous  
  
"I-...I do not know what you are talking about"  
  
"You do too! You somehow stole Shinji from me, from me!"  
  
Something about this speech clicked in Rei's head, as she understood what Asuka was talking about "I, me..." for the first time she stumbled over her words, unknowing how to respond to these accusations "Shinji and I are not...we never were"  
  
"Don't lie to me wondergirl! I saw you kissing him!"  
  
"It was only for saving me. I did kiss Shinji, but it was on the cheek"  
  
Asuka stood there, horror-struck. She had played this moment over and over in her head. As she rounded the corner she saw Rei with her hands planted on Shinji's shoulders, her lips coming close to his face. She had assumed it was a lip kiss but she didn't see, as she quickly turned and huddled on the wall.  
  
"Are you serious?!" she gripped Rei by the arms, shaking her almost violently "Where is he?!"   
  
"At NERV..." she answered by reflex, and to stop the girl from shaking her  
  
Upon the words reaching her ears released Rei and ran, not even bothering to close her door. She sprinted as fast as she could towards the elevator but was halted when she bumped into someone.  
  
"Whoa Asuka, no need to rush like that" Kaji offered his hand to her but the girl just got up and ran past him, before the door closed however she grabbed the spy and jerked him in the elevator  
  
"Kaji! You need to take me to NERV!" she leaned against a wall, slightly holding her stomach from the sudden use of energy without proper stretching  
  
"Uh, sure. What for?"  
  
"I need to talk to Shinji!" she seemed to scream the words, her excitement was quite frightening to the spy  
  
***  
  
"What do you mean more attacks!?" Major Katsuragi couldn't hold her excitement towards her commanding officer  
  
Gendo Ikari ignored this and continued "There was a prediction of this in the Dead Sea scrolls, however vague; once the champion of the celestial moon was decided the two moons will vie for dominance"  
  
"Champion? We are the champions of what?" the 3rd child had been standing there silent for most of this meeting, but this statement had piqued his interest  
  
"Of the 1st moon...Of heaven. In accordance with the bible the apocalypse was to happen in the year of 2000 after the death of Christ. Said event did indeed occur in the form of second impact, but it was only to see which was worthy of representing God: man or angel. In the end man won the right to fight for apocalypse, to see who would become one with God; Lucifer or Man"  
  
"So what are these things? Demons?" Her emotions had calmed somewhat but her voice was still raised at her commander  
  
"If we were to put a title on them, then yes I suppose that would be accurate. In reality they are entities that followed a different path then us and so they evolved differently"  
  
"But...why are you telling me this? Why not the other pilots as well?"   
  
"The 5th child is already aware of this and, preferably, we are going to fight this new threat with only the two of you"  
  
"What?! That is madness commander, to fight them with only 2 Eva's when 5 are available!" Misato had just recently made peace with Shinji and so didn't really like the idea of losing him again  
  
"Because Major Katsuragi" his eyes narrowed on her, his fingers clenched one another "If this new threat comes one by one such as the angels did then to use all 5 Evangelions creates a risk of them all being destroyed. If limited to 2, then they're 3 replacements. Of course, we are using the most able pilots first so as to reduce risk. If the need arises, and the 2 fail, then the others will be notified as to the new threat. I trust that you can accept that, major"  
  
Misato realized she had overstepped her limits and curtly apologized before Gendo ordered the two to leave.  
  
***  
  
The guardian and child walked out of the imposing office side-by-side. Their friendship renewed Misato had previously suggested they go out for a bite however their plan was halted by the ring of her mobile phone.   
  
"Hello?" she listened with little eager but at one point her interest became piqued by the conversation  
  
When it ended, Shinji found his shoulder ready to dislocate thanks to Misato's grip. He was dragged all the way to the cage, where a Ritsuko Akagi and Kowaru Nagisa patiently awaited them.   
  
"Your late Major" Ritsuko seemed busy ordering about technicians atop the cage of Evangelion Unit 15  
  
"Sorry, no excuses...What are they doing?"  
  
"Installing the S2 engines. Unit 15 is the last one"  
  
"But what of this new siting? This new 'angel'?"   
  
"It's not really an angel, a more accurate summarization would be closer to devil; an Oni"   
  
"But where is it?"  
  
"Along the coast of Tokyo-3, we were able to detect it hours ago but we have just gotten visual confirmation. It has yet to come into acceptable range of either firearms or close combat. The ETA is around 6:29.32"  
  
"Only 6 1/2 minutes?! Will we be ready in that time?" Shinji's voice had peaked, his panic was obvious  
  
"The Evas will be ready in that time, so the both of you need to be as well"  
  
***  
  
Asuka sprinted up to the control room, hoping to be able to get some kind of starting point in her search for Shinji. However, upon her arrival she was greeted with the news that both Shinji and Kowaru were launched. Duty dictated that she be on stand-by along with Rei who had made it their only a few minutes after she and Toji who had yet to make his appearance. She hadn't questioned the idea of a new enemy as everyone had accepted the fact that more attacks were going to occur. She tried to patch a link through to Shinji but found that lines had been closed between those on stand-by and those on active duty.  
  
"Please, don't let it be to late" Asuka gave a short prayer to a God she didn't believe in, hoping that her ignorance could be forgiven  
  
***  
  
"Shinji, expand your AT field!" the 5th child demanded as he charged the Oni  
  
"I'm doing it!" Shinji circled their enemy whilst unloading bullets all over it's body  
  
The Oni was a ravenous looking creature, crawling on all 4 as though it was more primitive then the last. However, building from the experience of the one before his hands could metamorphosis into a serrated blade. It was speedier then the 2 Eva's but seemed to be easier to interrupt. To make their efforts even harder the Oni was able to shift its form and slide along the ground almost unnoticed, like a shadow.  
  
Kowaru constantly interrupted its attacks and shape shifting with barrages to its side and head. Shinji frantically aimed for a core he could not see so instead pelted the Oni hoping that Kowaru would have better luck. Kowaru saw a glimpse of it in its mouth, so, unsheathing his prog knife, attempted to stab it. The Oni however bit down and was stabbed in the mouth; Kowaru released his grip on the knife and threw the target a few hundred feet. The Oni stumbled to get up, seeing this weakness Kowaru charged it but the Oni planned it and extended it's bladed arm and caused Kowaru to silence when his head was severed.   
  
***  
  
"Shit!" Misato cursed loudly enough to gather everyone's attention  
  
"What should we do ma'am?" it was clear that Hyuga was refraining his voice from breaking out into all-out panic  
  
"Launch the others"  
  
"All of them? Major, isn't that against your orders?" Ritsuko said under her breath, she stood beside Misato so only those 2 could hear it  
  
"It's a retrieval mission, and we don't know how much more the enemy can take. It's better to overkill then to leave it alive"  
  
***  
  
The Oni and Shinji became entangled in a wrestling match, neither gaining any ground over the other. Many of the supply depots around them had been toppled over by their bodies as the match continued on.   
  
"Shinji! Keep it occupied!"  
  
Toji had been the closet to their positions, and was skilled enough to put his prog knife into the Oni's head. The target reared back, attempting to pierce Unit 14 while it was off-guard. Unit 01, however, had its arms in his grip, not allowing them to move. Shinji toppled it over, away from them into Asuka who also had her prog knife ready. The Oni had managed to escape from it and metamorphoses into a large sphere. The Eva's kept their distance; waiting to see what it would do like this.   
  
"Wha' the hell are we all standin' here fer?" the most novice pilot among them charged the creature only a few hundreds feet from him  
  
"No, you idiot!..." Asuka yelled loudly, hoping to scare him off but the second Toji touched the Oni it exploded, every Eva was caught in the radius  
  
***  
  
"W-what just happened!?" Misato glared impatiently at the screen, hoping to find out their pilots weren't dead  
  
"I-it exploded...b-but, none of the structures are damaged" Ritsuko announced as the image on the screen cleared up "What...? What happened?"  
  
"Units 02, 13, and 14 are going berserk!" Aoba screamed, vainly trying to find out why  
  
"What about Unit 01?" Dr. Akagi didn't need to ask, she was already peering over Ibuki's shoulder  
  
"Completely normal ma'am"  
  
"The berserk Units are corroded!" Hyuga monitored, to no one in particular  
  
"C-corroded...?"   
  
***  
  
Only 7 hours ago.   
  
"Finally, it took long enough for these to get here" Ritsuko had hurried quickly to the cage, when she heard that the S2 engines had arrived "Maya, how long will it take to install these?"  
  
"Um, about 6 hours ma'am"  
  
"Excellent, the commander will be pleased with this"  
  
"Um, ma'am? Th, the computer detects...uh, corrosion"  
  
"Corrosion? Like rust?"  
  
"No ma'am, it's an abnormality within the engines, upon consulting with the Magi there are 2 deeming it safe for use but 1 opposing use"  
  
"Well, it's not as if we can demand for a replacement, not after what happened in the American branch. Continue with installation, we can resolve the problem later"  
  
***  
  
"I-that was the Oni! That's why we could detect it before it arrived! It was already here!"   
  
"Are you saying that the Oni has taken control of 3 Eva's and we've only 1!"  
  
"...Yes" Ritsuko searched frantically for a solution but her mind could find none  
  
"...How can we win...?"   
  
***  
  
"Shinji, can you hear me?!"   
  
"Y-yes Misato"  
  
"The other Eva's are against you! You have to fight them!"  
  
"Huh?" Shinji lost his concentration on the field and was bombarded by Unit 13, and 14   
  
***  
  
"Shit! Shinji, fight them!"  
  
"I-I can't. Th-they're my friends" his voice boomed over the loudspeaker, bringing everyone to his attention, they all knew how to remedy that  
  
"Units 13, and 14 have been ejected but Unit 02's access codes have been rejected"  
  
***  
  
After he confirmed visually that the entry plugs had escaped the confinements of the Oni Shinji kicked the abdomen of the Unit strangling him. Unit 14's grip broke and reared back. Shinji yelled a war cry as his foot grounded Unit 14. He turned sharply, seeing Unit 13 charge with its prog knife. Unit 01's hand flew forward and caught the knife in the palm. Using his only good hand Shinji gripped the wrist of his new target, spinning the way his momentum took him he threw Unit 13 close to where Unit 14 was. He turned to face his opponents while he pulled the knife out of his hand.  
  
"Way to go Shinji!" his guardian's voice came over the microphone, urging him on  
  
"T-thanks Misato"  
  
He got ready to jump one of them but was swiftly taken to the ground by the 3rd corroded Evangelion; Asuka's. Unit 02 had it's prog knife readied, Unit 01 in a prime position. Shinji waited, for how long he didn't know but the knife never came down. Instead Unit 02's arm shook as though an intense battle waged on.  
  
***  
  
The 2nd child sweated beads in her entry plug, her hands gripped the controls with all her might causing them to shake violently. Her lip was contorted as her mind struggled to regain control of the Eva but all she could manage was to halt it. The Oni fought with her mind, at the beginning she couldn't win on her own willpower but when it was about to finish off Shinji she drew her strength from him.   
  
She grunted heavily under the stress this was causing, some time after she had managed to stop the arm the Oni discovered that tapping into her past proved a fluctuation in her will. Images began to swirl in her mind, images that caused her to give up before; her mother, and herself.  
  
Lately she had learned to ignore them but when they both fought with her as well as the Oni, she very quickly lost the will to win. But, whatever it was she felt for Shinji had allowed her to reach an impasse. She fought with distant memories, ones she shared with no one.  
  
***  
  
A small boy walks along with his mother. The boy is no more then 6, and seems to be fairly greedy. The street they tread along is filled with toyshops with flashy playthings showcased on the outside. They continue along, as the mother tells the child firmly 'no' to all of his requests. The day goes on, until the 2 arrive at the park. The mother leaves the child momentarily while he builds a strange pyramid. The boy is rather displeased with his product and begins kicking it. He is now reluctant that it is no longer there, and begins building it again. He now misses the spot where it is, and kicks it over and over until it breaks. This time, he finds a small piece of candy covered in sand. Excited over his discovery he shows it to his mother, who has come back to him. His mother looks at the sand covering it and tells him that candy found on the ground is bitter on the outside but sweet on the inside, better for him to not eat it. The boy looks at his discovery, and eats it. He curdles over on his stomach, not at all pleased that he ate it...  
  
***  
  
Asuka is breathing hard; not much time at all has passed over her vision. During that time she managed to remove herself from Shinji, allowing him to fight the other 2 Eva's. She could feel the Eva's will wanting to kill the other and as more and more memories erupted in her mind it became harder and harder to deny it that.   
  
***  
  
"Asuka" the words are spoken gently, with a very safe tone to them  
  
"M-mama?" her eyes search around, they find not her mother but that she is no longer confined in the Eva  
  
"I am sorry Asuka. I know I've been a terrible mother to you"  
  
"Ma-ma..." there is a very different setting to this place, she recognizes it, but she can't define what it is  
  
"Please, let me have another chance. I-I will be a good mother to you this time. I promise...Asuka"  
  
"Mama"  
  
"Mama!" a small girl resembling her around when she was 8 runs in, in to hug her mother  
  
The Eva pilot breathes hard, thinking and judging her courses of action before it hits her "T-this isn't real..."  
  
The child releases herself from her mother's bosom. She strolls over to Asuka, facing her head on.  
  
"How is this not real?"  
  
"M-mama is dead, and you, you are me"  
  
"But mama is alive here, and she has promised a better life for us. This is a second chance for me, for us. To live the childhood you never did, to play, and sing and dance like you never did. To have parents, to have mama is what you have yearned so long for. She left us, and in spite of yourself you do not hate her, you miss her. She robbed us of a childhood, and now here you are with a second chance"  
  
"..." She stares at the little girl; it is true what she says even though she would never tell anyone  
  
"Asuka, come to me Asuka"  
  
The deprived teen walks slowly towards her mother when something catches her eye. She does know what this place is; this is where her mother was put when she went crazy. It's the same bed, sheets, walls, dresser, and, and window. The window is odd; it seems to jump out from the blandness of everything else. She slowly moves into her mother's embrace but she couldn't keep her eyes off the window. Her hands wrap around her neck and as suddenly as she made contact the scenario warped around to the moment where she found her mother dead. Her childlike self sprinted into the room, in the room lay her dead mother but overlapping it lay a mother embracing the child.   
  
"This is what I wanted..." her head is about to reach her mothers shoulder but out of the corner of her eye she sees why the window is so odd  
  
"What is that...?"  
  
Her eyes narrow on it; skyscrapers, damaged skyscrapers. She can't hear anything from the outside but she thinks she can make some faint outlines of 3 combatants.  
  
"Shinji...?"  
  
"Asuka dear, come to your mama"  
  
She feels compelled to go to her mother but she can't "Shinji!" her arms pull away from the image in her brain "Shinji!"  
  
"Asuka! Asuka, please give me another chance. Please!" her attention is drawn back to her mother, who is steadily fading away with the girl in her arms  
  
"I'm sorry...mother" she stands there, steady. The hospital room disappears from sight as she stands there, her eyes clenching tight  
  
***  
  
Her eyes open to the familiar backdrop of the entry plug, she can now clearly see Shinji but momentarily her eyes become clouded. Looking down, she sees tears.  
  
***  
  
Shinji quickly drew his prog knife and with such ferocity jams it into Unit 13's neck. He pushes with all his might as the Oni tried to strangle him. Despite the intense pain Shinji was able to push with enough might that he floored Unit 13. He raised his fist and brought it down to the skull of his enemy. Seeing Unit 14 get up from his previous beating forced Shinji to change targets. Quickly his Evangelion leapt forward and thrusted it's legs toward the body of his target. With both his enemies down Shinji was careful to watch Asuka's Eva. Unit 02 still seemed to be struggling with itself, its hand was held mid-air equipped with a prog knife. Suddenly the arm jolted and pierced it's own head completely through, causing it to go silent.  
  
"N-no, Asuka!"   
  
Unit 01 responded to the will of its master, sprinting towards the sacrificed Eva. He turned it over, hoping to get the entry plug out. He became occupied however by Unit 14 smashing his head against the ground and Unit 13 trying to rip it's arm off.   
  
"Goddamn it! Die!" he resisted against the arm bar of Unit 13 and managed to grip his prog knife, pulling it across the neck, which left Unit 13 headless  
  
His hands free Shinji reached up to choke Unit 14. His head was continually smashed which caused him great distress but by will unknown he was able to continue until he snapped Unit 14's neck. He turned slowly towards the fallen Unit 02 and ripped off the entry plug cover, the Eva released it's pilot. Shinji wanted to place it on the ground but he lost consciousness from the stress of the hard-fought battle.  
  
***  
  
The boy is older now, and he never regrets eating the candy. It was sweet, even though he had to survive some bitterness. It was worth it though, because he hurdled over from the pain a girl had come to see if he was all right. Afterwards the 2 became friends and now, they loved.  
  
***  
  
"Hey Shinji, you've finally come back to us"  
  
His eyes blink open rather slowly to a flock of red hair and white bandages.   
  
"W-where am I?"  
  
"In the hospital wing of NERV. You've been asleep for about 3 days" Asuka has a caring look in her eye, she has her good hand on top of his. Somehow, this doesn't feel awkward or weird to him. That, however, would subside when Fama walked into the room  
  
"Hey babe, how ya feelin'?" despite her boyfriends' presence she did not drop Shinji's hand, instead she grasped it tighter  
  
"..."  
  
"Yo, what's up? Why you bein' a bitch?" he makes his way closer to her, when his hand reaches out for her  
  
This was when Shinji felt the disappearance of her hand but he knew where it was: across his chest, propelling him away from them.   
  
"What the hell! I've been waitin' like 3 days and you ain't gonna reward me!" his hand reaches out again but this time her hand countered by slapping his cheek. Still he did not get the picture "Come on, who cares about this guy? You liked it last time"  
  
Asuka's eyes shot open at this proclamation, whereupon she pushed him against the bed with a look of distaste in her eyes.  
  
"Oh, that's it! You won't give it to me? Then I'm gonna take it!"   
  
Before Fama could begin his rush towards her the door slid open. The 5th child stepped through, mainly to greet Shinji and Asuka, but upon seeing that Fama was rushing Asuka he took it upon himself to remove him with, a fair amount of pain.  
  
"Thank god he's gone. Dumkompf!" she turned her nose up to the door, with a glare similar to the one she gave Fama  
  
Shinji had turned his head at this, not wanting to face Asuka "You made love with him..."   
  
***  
  
Yay. I'm done that really long chapter. Now the question is, do I make Shinji see past this or no? For those that are for whatever reason interested in this I hope you enjoyed it. C'ya 


	11. Somebody to love

Disclaimer: Evangelion doesn't belong to me  
  
Note: Hmm, I have no clue with what to do. I am totally writing this on the fly. BTW, I have no idea why I took the creative license to make Kowaru good at martial arts, I just needed someone to fill that role and I doubted that Misato would beat him up ;)  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 11: Somebody to love  
  
Two souls. Moments ago they were one but with a few words they have drifted further apart then they ever were. The disappointed and disheartened Shinji Ikari stares at his pillow, his eyes are fixated on it as his ears tune out all that is around him. Asuka Langley Sohryu stood despite some minor injuries to address her actions to he whom she loved. Her pleas and justifications, however, fell on deaf ears as Shinji had learned quite well how to tune her out. The one-sided conversation dragged on until one Misato Katsuragi had come to visit her injured charges.   
  
"Hey, how're you feeling?"   
  
"I'm fine Misato" she pronounced her name slowly, as she always had  
  
"What about you Shinji?" her voice held worry at the 3rd child's silence  
  
"I-I'm fine" his voice was choked as his eyes fought hard to hold back tears  
  
"You both did well, it was because of you two that the Oni was destroyed" she had sat on the foot of Asuka's bed, her tone had reflected that of a commander more then that of a friend   
  
"Of course, without me we couldn't have destroyed the Oni!" Asuka beamed with pride, deciding not to show her weakness to Misato  
  
"Heh, that may very well be true Asuka. Anyway, I've spoken with your doctors and they both are willing to released you into my custody"  
  
"Your custody? B-but I live with Ayanami" this was the first time Shinji turned his head, it had greatly surprised him  
  
Misato placed her hand on the back of her head, nervously laughing "Well, ya see...Commander Ikari wasn't really, uh, informed of you and Rei living together and all, soooo he has ordered that you come back to live with Asuka and me"  
  
Shinji lay there; a grin crept on his mouth as he recalled various times he had at that place. He would miss Ayanami but she wasn't exactly the best roommate "That's great Misato!"   
  
'Eh? Maybe, perhaps...' Asuka put a sort of thoughtful look on her face as she digested the fact that he was okay with living with them  
  
"Wonderful, well when you two are released we're all going to dinner"  
  
"All? Who else is coming?" Asuka wanted the dinner to be the three of them so that she could continue talking with Shinji when Misato went to the washroom  
  
"Rei, Kowaru, Toji, Hikari. Oh, and Kaji" she said her lover's name softly, hoping that Asuka wouldn't catch it  
  
Asuka inhaled deeply, her face growing very excited at the mention of Kaji's name "Kaji's coming!"   
  
"Yes..." their guardian seemed rather reluctant to confirm this information  
  
***  
  
Dinner had been nothing special. They all arrived there in due time and smiled smiles at one another. The others took turns congratulating Shinji on taking out two Evangelions and Asuka on managing to resist the Oni's commands. Afterwards Shinji had gone to Rei's place for the last time while it was his home, the two said nothing but Rei smiled at him. Upon his arrival back his stuff was dropped when Misato grasped him tightly in her arms. Asuka looked at him with hoping eyes but he only looked at her with kindness, nothing more.   
  
Asuka had turned his old room into a storage closet of sorts. She offered to help him with it but Shinji declined, not wanting to see her right now. The boxes cleared, Shinji brought in the small container holding his life. His room was his again.   
  
"This...this is home"   
  
His two roommates had come back into his room to talk it would seem. Not many words were said, as it was clear that Misato appreciated his presence and that Asuka was glad they at least lived together again. Upon their exit into their own rooms for sleep Shinji sat on his bed.  
  
His lip was held in place by his teeth as his hands were forced on his lap. Soon silent tears dropped from his face down onto his hands. His head found it's way to the pillow as his hands gripped it tightly. Tears stained everything as they flowed freely now.   
  
***  
  
A single train car is almost empty. Only 2 passengers reside in it; Misato Katsuragi and her charge, Shinji Ikari. The 2 sit across form one another, Shinji with his head in his hands and Misato ready to begin her usual intruding questions.   
  
"What's wrong Shinji?"  
  
"Y-you, your all...so, so mean to me"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Y-you hurt me all the time, playing with me like I'm just a toy. W-why can't you be nice to me?"  
  
"But we are nice to you"  
  
"N-no, your not, you j-just hide behind your kind smiles, toying around with me"  
  
"We smile, because we love you"  
  
"Liar!" his head jets up; his mouth is curled in a snarl as his tears flow from his eyes "None of you love me! Nobody loves me!"  
  
Misato smiles at him before continuing "You are the one who is lying. You are lying to yourself. You are the one who loves, us" at her words Rei appears beside her and Asuka materializes in his face  
  
"Yeah Shinji, you're the one who loves us. We know about your little fantasies, and you wonder why we're not nice to you?" Asuka stares him deep in the eyes, as his face of anger slowly recoils into one of calamity   
  
"You're the worst of them all. Constantly playing around with my feelings"  
  
"But Pilot Ikari, you're the one playing with her feelings" Rei had perked up, but her voice was still gentle neither defensive nor accusing  
  
"No! No! You, you lead me on with your kind words and your coy smiles and you lured me in" he coils his back into somewhat of a defensive posture before continuing "before you took it away. You hurt me, you hurt me more then I could ever hurt you"  
  
"But Shinji, it was you who ended it" Rei still sat, her posture remained unchanged  
  
"Because I was afraid of her! I was afraid of what she would do to me!"  
  
"You were afraid of being loved" the visage of the 17th angel appears at the end of the car, his complacent features were warm towards the boy  
  
"B-but why would I be afraid of something like that? It doesn't make any sense"  
  
"All your life you were alone. You never had anyone to hold onto, anyone to hold onto you. When you did finally have someone you were afraid, afraid of losing her, afraid of being vulnerable to someone. You got used to being alone, and you became overwhelmed with feelings of love. You were only using her attack as a medium to justify you ending it"  
  
"B-but that doesn't make any sense, humans are meant to live alone. Not to depend on other people"  
  
"That is only self-deception" the speaker was Rei, she had appeared beside Kowaru now "humans yearn to be with others. This is why you make friends, to be alone is unbearable and to be unloved is horrible"  
  
"But love is nothing more then a false feeling. It can't possible last forever"  
  
"The beauty of love is that it is between two people, who become infinitely happy. Love is nothing more then 2 variables; undeterminable, placed together to make something. If the variables are high enough then love can last forever" these words of wisdom originated from Kowaru  
  
"That's wrong though, humans aren't meant to be with only one person their whole lives, it's impossible"  
  
Again, Kowaru had the answer to this thought "You are only fooling yourself. When in love the needs of one are met to appease the needs of the other. Example; when you were in love with Asuka you would have done anything for her without question"  
  
"B-but that was only because I was afraid of her"  
  
Rei perked up from her perpetual silence now "No. This is because you wanted her to be happy, because this made you happy and happiness is an emotion you have had to little of in your life"  
  
"But, I don't need to be happy, just so long as I exist"  
  
"Again you are only deceiving yourself. Through Eva you have ensured your existence but through it you have surrounded yourself with others. Through this company you now fear being alone" Rei's gentle voice partly soothed Shinji but also caused him to rise up in anger  
  
"But I am alone. You all just play with my feelings. You hide behind those coy smiles and kind words but your all just making fun of me!"  
  
"You say this to yourself over and over again but in reality this is not true as you know"  
  
"I-I love them all but...they cause me pain...it isn't their fault, it's mine..."  
  
"And what is Misato to your heart?"  
  
"She...is what I lost..."  
  
"And Ayanami?"  
  
"She...is what I never had..."  
  
"And what of Asuka?"  
  
"She is...my future"  
  
Kowaru smiles his smile at Shinji, which warms up the boy's heart before he is left alone in that train.  
  
***  
  
"I didn't mean to hurt you Shinji..." the 2nd child hugs her pillow, her words are only audible to herself   
  
***  
  
His eyes open slowly, had he been crying? It would seem so; his pillow is soaked in his tears. Wiping away the remnants Shinji contemplates his dream, dechipering it's meaning.  
  
"M-my future..."  
  
He thinks only for a few moments before getting up. She was his future, someone who loved him and someone he loved back. To him, it no longer mattered what he did in her past. He neared her room, slowly sliding back the door. Asuka's head swerved around to see Shinji.   
  
"..." As if on cue Shinji's voice went dry, and his head garbled   
  
'C'mon dammit. This isn't the time to get scared' his mind cursed this pathetic speaker, as he fumbled around to make his mouth move in accordance with his mind  
  
"I..."  
  
"Yeah?" There was a hoping tone in her voice, but it was a small hope  
  
"I..."   
  
He fell silent once more, his words would not leave his mouth...She, however, would not speak instead desiring him to say whatever it was he was going to say.  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"...Let's be friends Asuka"  
  
"Alright" she smiled somewhat, not a mean hateful smile he usually got but a friendly smile  
  
He walked off back to his room, his head swimming. 'In the end, I can't forgive her'  
  
***  
  
Note: Hmm, I think I made up a few words for this chapter...If that were in animated form the last few silences there would be like a minute long. Just like they did with Kowaru :) 


	12. Do I trust your lips? or your words?

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion  
  
Note: It seems Asuka's situation is causing some anger. Well, don't worry I'll resolve it soon...I just don't know how or which way ;)  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion  
  
Part 12: Do I trust your lips? Or your words?  
  
"How long until Unit 15's ready to launch?" Misato sipped her cup of coffee as she oversaw the work of the technicians on Kowaru's Evangelion  
  
"It will be awhile. Unit 15's S2 engine was heavily damaged by the explosion and its frame was rocked in the battle afterwards" Ritsuko stood beside her friend, clipboard in hand, as she attempted to make sense of various calculations before her  
  
"What about Unit 13 and 14?"  
  
"Both Unit's should be ready to go by the end of today. By the way, how is your artificial family doing?" her voice is sly, as though she basks in the fact that Misato was having problems with her two charges  
  
"I-I don't know what's wrong with them. I'd have to guess that Shinji found out about Asuka's new boyfriend and...Wasn't happy with it"   
  
"Oh? Well, I guess it would be about time for Shinji's hormones to kick in so I wouldn't worry about it to much"  
  
"Ha, of course you wouldn't. Your job doesn't rely on whether or not they can stand to be in the same room with one another"   
  
"Well, that's true enough"  
  
***  
  
The 3rd child sat naked in the water, allowing the warm water to soothe his aches. His head leaned against the wall; his eyes were shut in a most peaceful manner.   
  
'Asuka Langley Sohryu' The image of the red-headed vixen penetrated his peaceful rest  
  
'She is...unattainable in every aspect and yet...she still seems to be in love with me' He opened his eyes, which revealed that his solitude had been broken  
  
"Who is still in love with you?" Kowaru stood overtop his friend, his trademark smile did not bother Shinji, nor did the nakedness of them both  
  
"Uh..." he immediately felt like brushing him off, but something about the 5th child made Shinji trust him all over again "A-Asuka"  
  
"The 2nd child?"  
  
"Y-yes"  
  
"She is quite beautiful, it seems that most men would do anything for a chance at her love yet you, you say she is the one who still loves you?"  
  
"T-that is true"  
  
"Then why? It seems apparent in your voice that you in fact love her"  
  
"I think I do...I've never felt this before, in my heart I mean"  
  
Kowaru took a seat beside Shinji, his presence seemed to put the 3rd child at ease "Heh, neither have I"  
  
"Then how can you know what love is?"  
  
"Love. In itself, is just a word but it is the concept that matters. It is a simple concept, really. It's when you feel something for another, like their lives suddenly become important to you. I have never felt such a feeling, I have only heard of it"  
  
"I...guess that's the way I feel but...when I'm with Asuka, I quite constantly in pain. It hurts, really"  
  
"Well, love is not just based on your own feelings but the feelings of the other. Sometimes it is better to do something you do not want to do so that you may make another happy, as that should make you happy"  
  
"I don't know...she never seemed to be happy, no matter what I did"  
  
"Perhaps it is...that she simply does not know how to deal with happiness herself. It seems humans have a difficulty doing that"  
  
"But it's not worth it, it's just not"  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"My hopes, my dreams. Those are mine...but, I lose myself when I'm with someone else"  
  
"Maybe that's because your not willing to give yourself, so you make them take it. If you were to let Miss Sohryu into your heart, perhaps, just perhaps, you two could bask in the joy of one another"  
  
"...But, to what's the point? Just for me to have someone else say they know how fucked up I am? The more I show people, the more likely it is I'll be hurt. I don't think I'd survive being abandoned again..."  
  
***  
  
"Don't you like this one?" Kaji held the fabric of a red satin dress in his hand  
  
"Ya, it's nice" Asuka seemed disinterested in shopping, even though it had been her suggestion to go  
  
Kaji's face turned to concern, as Asuka had been like this all day "What's wrong? You don't want to shop right now?"   
  
"I do Kaji, I really do. Especially since it's with you but..."  
  
"C'mon, what's wrong? Is it about Shinji?"   
  
"I dunno, I think so"  
  
"Well, what is it about?"   
  
"M-my heart hurts. It just hurts so much...I don't know what it is"  
  
Kaji laughed slightly and patted Asuka on the shoulder "Don't worry, that's just heartache, everyone in love gets it"  
  
"B-but I can't love him. There's nothing but hurt with him"   
  
Kaji guided her to the change-room, as he knew from experience that Asuka was going to start crying.  
  
"Well Asuka, hurt comes with love"  
  
"B-but there, there wasn't any hurt with you!"   
  
Kaji bent down to look her in the eyes "Asuka, there also wasn't love. I was just a girlhood crush you had"  
  
"No Kaji! I did love you...I really did" she couldn't bare to look at him as the tears began stinging her eyes  
  
Kaji smiled at her, thinking it much easier to just accept that fact then to defy it "But that's just it, you did. Or maybe you still do, but you have to admit to yourself that it's not plausible. You'll always just be Asuka to me"  
  
"But what about, when I'm older? As old as Misato"  
  
"You'll still be Asuka to me...Listen, I'm not who you should be looking for love from. And maybe it's not from Shinji either, but listen Asuka: You need to find someone who can and will return your feelings in full, it might be Shinji, it might not be. But I know you'll find that person eventually, you're to great not to"  
  
Asuka's eyes welled up with tears, but quickly she wiped them away. She smiled at Kaji a happy smile and dashed out of the change-room.  
  
"Well, my job's done for today" he leaned against the doorway and smiled, it was at this time that he realized he was around a women's change-room "Um...hello ladies..."  
  
***  
  
"Aren't you going to eat anything Kowaru?" Shinji himself had only a small serving of rice, but Kowaru had nothing but water before him  
  
"I really don't eat that much, and most of the food served here is meat; which I dislike" the 5th child almost had an aura around him, he looked somewhat out of place  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have asked before bringing you here"  
  
Kowaru smiled his gentle smile, it comforted Shinji "Don't worry about it. I probably wouldn't eat anything as it is"  
  
"No, I really am sorry"  
  
Kowaru focused his eyes on Shinji, his hand resting on his unused chopsticks "Why do you feel the need to apologize for everything?"   
  
Shinji was taken aback by the question, Kowaru's incentive usually wasn't so bold "I-it stops people from being mad at me"  
  
"So you do it because you're afraid?"   
  
"I'm not sure anymore...I do it because, because, I do it because..."  
  
"Or is it because you don't want to hurt?"   
  
***  
  
Asuka ran and ran, searching the entire district around their apartment.  
  
"Tokyo-3 is too big" she was beginning to lose her hope, but still she ran  
  
'I should just wait back at home' the thought had been recurring to her for some time but she continued to press on  
  
"No, I can't. I need to tell him now"  
  
There must have been an angel watching over her, for she got her wish.  
  
***  
  
"I think it's time we part ways" said the seemingly omnipotent Kowaru, he held a gleam in his eyes with an almost higher purpose in them  
  
Shinji thought it odd that their conversation was rather abruptly ended, but slowly walked back as he pondered whether he was afraid of being hurt or he didn't want to hurt. He was greatly startled when someone gripped his shoulders to stop his advances.  
  
He quickly went back, tripping over his heels onto the ground. Asuka bent down to help him up, asking if he was okay.  
  
"Uh, um, I-I'm glad I ran into you Shinji"  
  
"Y-yes Asuka?"   
  
"I know, I know you think I did some bad stuff w-with Fama b-but, but, um..."  
  
Shinji was unsure of what to do or what to say in this situation, so he simply stood there, wondering what the next words Asuka would spew out would be.  
  
"I-it's not true, I didn't do anything with him. He was a jerk"  
  
"Oh, that's...good, Asuka"  
  
"Also...uh, also, I, um,...I l-l, I love you Shinji!"  
  
Shinji stood there, his expression etched into his face, frozen like a stone as the words began sinking in.  
  
***  
  
Shinji was alone in the cold desolate existence. He looked around frantically, but to no avail. A way out, any way out, but none presented itself. He heard voices, voices echoing around, but they were too distant. He couldn't hear them, but they neared him eventually until they were pounding in his ears.  
  
"I don't like you"  
  
"You sicken me"  
  
"Get away from me"  
  
"How about we never see each other"  
  
"Just fuck off"  
  
"You're ah, not my type"  
  
"We're not even friends"  
  
"I hate you"  
  
"Hahahaha, are you serious?"  
  
"You think you're even worth it?"   
  
"Don't call me"  
  
Each voice was of a different girl, each word blended together in a collage of sound. Shinji crumpled down to the ground, holding his head as the girls insulted him. Twin Asuka's seemed to appear over him, one to comfort him and the other standing over ready to scorn him.  
  
"What are you, stupid?!"  
  
"Hey Shinji, you idiot"  
  
"Look, If I warm up my breasts with my hands, do you think they'll get bigger or smaller?"  
  
"What in the hell are you talking about?!?"  
  
"I know you tried to kiss me while I was sleeping!"  
  
"Hey Shinji! Wanna kiss me? I got nothin else to do"  
  
"Blaaa! I should never kiss to pass time!"  
  
"That's your viewing fee. Quite a bargain, neh?"  
  
"Dummkopf!"  
  
"You're thinking in Japanese! If you must think, do it in German!"  
  
"AH! I didn't mean to get THAT up, you pervert!!"  
  
"EW! Don't point it at me!!"  
  
"If you dare look up my dress, I swear I'm going to kill you"  
  
"I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu! Charmed, huh?"  
  
"Why do all boys have to be perverted jerks?!"  
  
"And you call yourselves men - where are your balls?"  
  
"Such a boring little boy"  
  
"When I didn't win with my Eva, I lost whatever value I might have had. I hate . . . everything. And I hate myself the most. I don't care about anything anymore. There's no point"  
  
"My Unit Two is the world's first Evangelion, created for actual combat conditions, it's the final production model"  
  
"Well, what did you think of that? A fight should be clean and elegant without waste"  
  
"Hey, why so gloomy? I'm the most popular girl in school! You should appreciate your good fortune!"  
  
"No way! A boy and a girl should never sleep under one roof after the age of seven!"  
  
"Get it out of my mind! Please God, it's changing my mind!"  
  
"How can it get any worse?"  
  
"It's about time you got up, you idiot!"  
  
"I've really hit rock bottom when I get sympathy from a loser like YOU!"  
  
Then there was silence. He seemed to live out his life with Asuka in nothing more then a moment. He sat there in the silence, huddled in the arms of Asuka. His eyes clenched tight, afraid of what he would see should he open them.  
  
"I love you Shinji!"  
  
His eyes opened, and there was only a light. And then he was back.  
  
***  
  
Commander Gendo Ikari folded his hands in front of his mouth. His back leaned forward so slightly, as he went to listen to Keel Lorenz of SEELE terminal 1.  
  
"We have received a report that your 2nd and 3rd child are having personal problems with one another, and that it is affecting their performance"  
  
"We are currently taking actions to deal with that" his words were tight and his voice strong, he wondered where such a report would come from, as he did not authorize it  
  
"And how would you be doing that I wonder? You better not give us any of your lies Ikari" number 7 said through his harsh accent  
  
"As you recall, I asked that you make Cast-2 clones of Ryoji Kaji and Kowaru Nagisa"  
  
"How does the clone of the 5th child and a spy help resolve the problems in your internal affairs?" Lorenz demanded again  
  
"The 2nd child is greatly unbalanced without any male contact. At first, during the child's coma, I had conceived a plan to use the 3rd child, who was unbalanced from the loss of pilot Kowaru Nagisa, to balance the both of them out"  
  
"And how did you go about orchestrating such an event? The emotions of people can be somewhat difficult to manipulate" 9 doubted Ikari's claim  
  
"The synch ratio's of the 2nd child not a week ago were pathetic. By having R-the 3rd child act as a medium, I could decelerate the 2nd child's confidence; thereby ensuring she would stay home in depression...as long as no one else was there. By making Major Katsuragi work a night shift and delaying the 4th child I could ensure that the 3rd child would take time to get to his residence..."  
  
"Is that why you had us save the 4th child? This council does not like to be used Ikari" the angered voice of 4 rang throughout the black room, demanding a suitable reason and explanation  
  
"Apologies, but I required him for the battle and my plan, so I could submit no such request"  
  
"Enough of that, continue Ikari" Lorenz urged him on, quietly evaluating whether Ikari was manipulative enough to beat him to Impact  
  
"Luckily, due to the 2nd child's low self-esteem, the two were able to elope. Which brought us our solution"  
  
"If the problem was solved, why did you re-think the formula?"   
  
"Unfortunately, their personalities contrast too greatly and after the 3rd child's request in a change of housing it became necessary to draw a hatred between the two so that they would not yearn for one another. To this end, I hired a male capable of filling the 2nd child's demanding ideals"  
  
"And this would be Kojira Fama?"  
  
"Indeed"  
  
"Then why were the Cast-2 clones created?"  
  
"Unfortunately, Mr. Kojira forgot that he was being paid to balance out the 2nd child, and so he seemed to instigate their split...for that measure, he has been dealt with"  
  
"And you believe the Cast-2 clones will be able to balance out the synch scores of the pilots?"  
  
"It already hass, Mr. Kaji has since balanced the emotions of the 2nd child, which is seen the synch scores you received. And the 3rd child, himself, seems ha-balanced at the appearance of the 5th child"  
  
"Very good Ikari. It seems you have found a stable solution to this problem...however, if it should arise again we would like it...dealt with in a more permanent manner"  
  
"Understood"  
  
The terminals faded out, leaving Commander Ikari alone in his office "And who, would dare to undermine me for the gain of SEELE?"  
  
***  
  
"S-stop..." Shinji backed slightly  
  
"S-Shinji" she felt hurt that he hadn't responded yet, but reached her hand out to console him  
  
"Stop toying with my feelings!" Shinji quickly sprinted back, his eyes stinging from his tears  
  
And Asuka stood there. Her heart laid on the line. And she was rejected.  
  
***  
  
Note: Whoa, this is like the 3rd time I've re-written this chapter. Anyhow, for those still reading please review :), and I think I explained why some of the characters were brought back, but there's a bit more to it then that...i think, I haven't really planned the whole thing out lol. Oh ya, and I may adopt a format where the Oni battles are not described unless it is crucial to the story. Part of the reason I stopped writing was cuz it was getting tiring writing those out. 


End file.
